Jason MacDonald could not answer the bell for the third and final round during his middleweight showdown with Rich Franklin at UFC 68 because of damage sustained to his right eye in the waning seconds of the second frame, according to the Edmonton Sun.
Here’s a snip from “The Athlete:”
“I don’t look so good. I have got some black eyes and seven stitches (around) that right eye. And I am still having some nasty pain in that eye…. The second last blow hit me square in the right eye and I saw a little flash and then at the end of the round I couldn’t see out of my right eye.”
And for those who speculate that MacDonald quit, he has some choice words in another interview on FCFighter.com.
Here is MacDonald again:
“Let me be very clear at no time did I say I was done or to quote some of the people on the net I quit! Remember I was the one moving forward on Rich not running away! I was on rubber legs though and could not see out of my right eye. Mark [trainer] saw this and made the decision to stop the fight. I did not even really know what went down but I never said I was done! Looking back Mark made the right choice because like I said I was in a lot of trouble and could not see out of my eye.”
After the fight, MacDonald’s trainer, Mark Pavelich, noticed some UFC staff members reveling over the Franklin win and thinks they were a little too excited with the outcome — a sight the did not sit well at all with the Canadian team.
Here’s a snip from the trainer:
“I saw some of the UFC staff jumping up and down like Rich Franklin was their child or something and I took great, great offence to that. I am going to take that into training every day now until we get back there.”
It’s not all doom and gloom, however, for MacDonald in the wake of the defeat. The Edmonton Boxing and Wrestling Commission awarded MacDonald with the Mixed Martial Arts Fighter of the Year Award on Tuesday night.
29 Comments »
He’s correct, I watched the fight and saw MacDonald wobbling back to his corner, and watched Mark Pavelich take a look at the eye and signal to the ref he was done.
Sounds like more whiney crybaby bullshit to me.
McDonald has a future, but right now its tough for him to compete with contenders..
Kravmagist, I agree, I think jmac needs to relax, hes proven himself as an eggresive fighter that is willing to put it out in the cage. He and his camp just need to stay focused and not get caught up in the bull.
He is totally on the mark regarding the UFC execs having favorites. Listen to how the announcers praise Hughes during the third round when all he did was hold Lytle down. Look at how they are downplaying Anderson Silva’s massive beatdown of Franklin in the interviews for UFC 68. Hell, look how “excited” Dana White was when he had to put the belt around Silva’s waist. It is disgusting.
you still got my respect j mac, losing to rich is nothing to be ashamed of, keep working and i hope i see a lot more of you, i like somehting about the way you fight, i don’t know what it is, you have some kind of awkwardness that is fun to watch, get healthy and come back strong
This is just weak though. Even in defeat he continues to run that mouth. Yeah his trainer look at his eye…but you can also see him ask J.M. if he wanted to continue and you see him slightly shake that head. Man up, you lost, it happens, come back to fight again. But please don’t insult our intelligence or say Rich was running from you or you didn’t quit.
BLAH BLAH BLAH………..A LOST IS A LOST, LET YOUR FIGHTING DO THE TALKING NEXT TIME IN THE OCATGON!!
Ha Ha Ha I’m just glad franklin put macdonald in his place. He looks like an arrogant dork after he wins, it did my heart some good to see him lose. Maybe he didn’t quit but I still think hes a pussy and wouldn’t consider him in the top 10.
Maybe his trainer asked him if he could see? If MacD isn’t in the top 10 for middleweights right now in the UFC, I’d like to see that list… He’s lost to the ex-champ and thats it. Yeah, definitely a pussy. Please.
Well JMAC definitely lost and in some previous UFC fights we have seen a ref stoppage with similar strikes from someone in the guard. ie Tito vs NyQuil 2.
In the Franklin/JMAC fight we could definitely see that Franklin was a much faster and better striker than JMAC. A loss is a loss but to loose to the ex-champ……with out getting knocked out or submitted is not bad and I am sure many fighters would be happy to have the same opportunity that JMAC did/has.
MacDonald was toast, and even signaled the referee that he was done before he got up.
He lacks the stand-up game needed to hang with the best fighters.
I think the refrence to Rich Franklin being there child was great it made me laugh.
Maybe the dude is telling the truth, I dont know, but I was one saying he quit. Maybe he read it here…..
Last time I remember this happening in the UFC was Gumby vs Liddell, I think. Jeremy verbally subbed after he took a punch and couldnt see out of his eye. Joe Blogums said, ” Well, Jeremey is a professional and too smart to stand in front of Liddell and get his head knocked off.” Agreed.
The difference is that Jeremy was still coherent and make a safety call. I have no problem with that. JMac just got his asskicked, coundnt walk straight, but no that wasnt what stopped the fight, it was his eye. ~\~
Walk out in the third, take the KO, and move on. Can Canada produce one guy with some freaking heart? Plz, dont say what about GSP?
no heart in america’s attic? i hate to say it but i agree
Talking trash on GSP? Blasphemy!
GSP - “I wan tooo be champeon long time, ah, a great champeon”
I dont know about great, but at the rate he fights, he’ll be champEon at UFC 220 The Match on Mons Olympus.
Update on the UFC 220 The Match on Mons Olympus
Reuters, Lunar station#9–Canadian Georges St. Pierre had to withdraw from his sheduled match against Matt Hughes the V due to a pulled muscle in his upper eyelid.
haha GSP is the most injury prone SOB in the UFC! But it is fun to watch him fight…
Its a little bit shady on UFC by cheering on Rich winning. They coudd have praised him behind the curtain but to do it in front of JMAC’s face is bullshit.
As in boxing if you get hurt or cut during the fight you need to convince your corner or the doctor you want to continue. Greg looked at his defeated look, asked him a question and waited for the response before he stopped the fight. He can’t say he didn’t quit when he didn’t do anything to act like he wanted to keep fighting. I mean really, even in defeat this guy won’t let go off his own d@*k. You think he would be cool. He said he was a contender not a champion. So he did that, goodbye now.
Hey man why don’t we leave the whole Canada thing out of this. no matter where you are there are guys with heart and guys who are pussies, everywhere. For you to question the heart of a country you know nothing about is an insult and complete bullshit. David loiuseau took a beating and franklin broke his hand on loiuseau’s head, if that isnt toughness then i dont know what is. GSP does get hurt a lot though some guys are like that.
Assumption #1 - I dont know Canada.
Assumption #2 - I believe David Loiseau has no heart
Assumption #3 - GSP gets hurt a lot and some guys are like that.
#1 Wrong. I’ve been there many times, trained with Canadian SFs in Iraq 1, and currently live in Central Florida, or as the plethora of visiting Canadians call it, paradise. I bet I see more Canadian flags than you do.
#2 He’s of Haitian stock, not French-Canadien. And yes, you are tough if you allow another man to break his hand on your head.
#3 Yes, but only pussies.
i think youre wrong mtufc…i went to canada one time on a baseball trip when i was 14, i didnt meet anyone, but i know they arent all pussies….just look at Kalib Starnes, he proudly flew the Maple leaf on the back of his head, and the showed tremendous heart during tuf 3 tournament, up until he quit because he got kicked in the ribs, he was all heart
To end this, I wasnt picking on all Canadians, but Starnes, GSP, JMac all came to mind so I said can Canada produce one guy with any heart? The answer, of course is, yes, they can. Neil Peart and Rush are the shit, but they dont fight MMA.
I’m canadian and called jason macdonald a pussie because I think his bark is worse than his bite. I’m not a fan of cocky guys who run there mouth more than they perform. Is he really a pussie……..I doubt it but when I don’t like someone I tend to call them names. Enough of the canadian vs american bullshit the only difference between and american and canadian is where they live period.
Thanks Nathan. I dont have any issues AT ALL with Canadiens. Tough country, good ppl.
I’ve read thrice now that JMac suffered a busted blood vessel in his eye. He is going to be ok, and is back in the gym. He is training and helping a stablemate for an upcoming fight and that his camp wants Kampmann next.
Anyone who dares step into the octogon gets an immediate 9 points out of ten. No pussies in there. Cocky arrogant behavior is all part of the show. Jason has formidable skill and desire to fight, and it would be reckless of his management team to risk MacDonalds right eye or his health merely to appease a bunch of blood thirsty sicko fight fans. (me included)
[quote comment=”13738″]Anyone who dares step into the octogon gets an immediate 9 points out of ten. No pussies in there. Cocky arrogant behavior is all part of the show. Jason has formidable skill and desire to fight, and it would be reckless of his management team to risk MacDonalds right eye or his health merely to appease a bunch of blood thirsty sicko fight fans. (me included)[/quote]
Being a very close relative of Jason’s,I am glad to see there are guys like you that have some common sense.A true fighter is smart enough to know when an unjury could end his career.His eye was scary looking,but is on the mend.He will be back.