Top welterweight prospect Rory “The Waterboy” MacDonald has agreed to face veteran submission ace Mike “Quicksand” Pyle at UFC 133 on August 6th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The UFC officially announced plans for the matchup today and bout agreements are expected to be signed soon.
MacDonald recently rebounded from his lone career loss with a one-sided dismantling of former contender Nate Diaz, while Pyle has won four of six fights inside the Octagon and brings a three-fight winning streak into the bout. A victory in August will move one fighter closer to title contention.
MacDonald (11-1-0) made his professional debut at age 16 in 2005 and went on to capture titles for King of the Cage in Canada before moving on to the UFC early last year. After a quick submission win over Mike “Joker” Guymon, the British Columbia native faced former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in June. Despite controlling much of the first two rounds against Condit, the younger MacDonald was finally overwhelmed with strikes very late in round three and suffered his first loss. The defeat only motivated the 21-year-old, however, and he slammed and suplexed his way to a commanding decision against Diaz last month.
Pyle (21-7-1) has been competing in mixed martial arts since MacDonald was just 11 years old. The veteran possesses a slick ground game and is one of the top submission fighters at 170 pounds. Pyle took the long road to the UFC and fought his way through a number of mid-level promotions, and even challenged Jake Shields in a November 2007 EliteXC bout, but he has proven that he can compete among the best in the division. After opening his UFC tenure with a modest 2-2 record, Pyle has now won back-to-back decisions over the previously unbeaten John Hathaway and fellow jiu-jitsu standout Ricardo Almeida.
Both fighters are proven finishers and each has been involved in many exciting fights throughout their respective careers. The planned bout at UFC 133 could potentially result in a Fight or Submission of the Night bonus for the victor, who will take a big step up in the stacked welterweight ranks.
UFC 133 takes place on August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former champion “Suga” Rashad Evans and top prospect Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis. Though not official, the event is also expected to feature a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Jose “Scarface” Aldo and Chad “Money” Mendes.
UFC 133 Fight Card (subject to change):
– “Suga” Rashad Evans vs Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
– Jose “Scarface” Aldo vs Chad “Money” Mendes (UFC Featherweight Championship) [*]
– Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
– Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
– Johnny Hendricks vs Mike Pierce
– Rory “The Waterboy” MacDonald vs Mike “Quicksand” Pyle
– Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
– Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko
– Mike Brown vs Nam Phan
– “The Pride of El Salvador” Ivan Menjivar vs Nick Pace
– Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs Dennis “Superman” Hallman
– Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Riki Fukuda
*Not yet officially announced.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)