UFC

Former UFC fighter Rory MacDonald announced his retirement from MMA on Sunday at the age of 33.

MacDonald made it official in an Instagram post, writing: "My time has come to put the gloves down for good. I'm so thankful for this sport and every person I've been able to meet along the way."

On Saturday, MacDonald suffered a surprising loss to Dilano Taylor in the semifinals of the PFL welterweight playoffs. Following the first-round technical knockout defeat, MacDonald removed his gloves, which is normally a sign that a fighter is planning to retire, per ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

The British Columbia native trained with Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre and became one of the greatest Canadian MMA fighters of all time in his own right.

MacDonald turned pro in 2005 and competed for many of the top promotions in MMA, including UFC, Bellator and PFL.

MacDonald fought for UFC from 2010 to 2016, going 9-4 during that time. He went 9-2 in his first 11 UFC bouts, earning victories over notable names such as Nate Diaz, BJ Penn and Tyron Woodley.

His second-to-last UFC fight was a welterweight title fight against Robbie Lawler at UFC 189, which Lawler won by fifth-round TKO.

MacDonald signed with Bellator in 2017 and had six fights for the promotion. He won the Bellator welterweight title in only his second fight but fell short in a subsequent attempt to become middleweight champion.

After Bellator, MacDonald made the move to PFL in 2021. He went just 2-4 in six PFL fights, however, and fell in the second round of the welterweight tournament in each of the past two years.

Overall, MacDonald went 23-10-1 during his career with nine wins by way of submission and seven by knockout.

UFC fighters make a pittance relative to the promotion's revenue, and Dana White has no plans on changing that anytime soon.

The UFC president recently sat down with GQ and pushed back on any calls for him to raise fighter purses.

“Fighters always want to make more money,” White said (2:40 mark). “Boxing has absolutely been destroyed because of money and all the things that go on. It's never gonna happen while I’m here. Believe me, these guys get paid what they’re supposed to get paid. They eat what they kill. They get a percentage of the pay-per-view buys and the money is spread out amongst all the fighters.

"If you don't like it, there's a simple solution to this problem: Go start your own MMA organization. No barrier to entry. Knock yourself out. Pay 'em whatever you want to pay 'em. It's been done before. How's it worked out for other guys? Not well. Mind your business."

The UFC has historically paid fighters around 20 percent of the company's revenue. That pales in comparison to athletes in other sports leagues. NFL, NBA and NHL players all make between 48-50 percent of their sport's revenue. Major League Baseball has a less structured system and varies year-to-year, but it tends to be in a similar percentage range.

The UFC pay scale is most similar to that of WWE, which has also been accused of low-balling its employees.

As you may have guessed, there is one major difference between the four major men's professional sports leagues and UFC and WWE: Those leagues have unions. Neither UFC nor WWE fighters are unionized, meaning there is no overarching representative body ensuring they're paid properly.

Jake Paul, who has had a contentious relationship with White, has consistently criticized UFC for its pay scale of fighters and proposed starting a union earlier this year.

“I want to create a fighters union," Paul said on ESPN's First Take. "This is my goal, is to really impact the whole entire sport, both MMA and boxing, and leave an everlasting stamp. And I just so happen to not be beholden to anybody. A lot of these UFC fighters are beholden to Dana White. They can’t speak out against him. So I’m using my platform because I’m one of the very few people who actually can. I’ll say whatever, I’ll speak the truth. I’m just doing what my responsibility is as a fighter and as someone who cares about other fighters.”

Alex Pereira is the last man to beat Israel Adesanya at the latter's natural weight. A rematch couldn't come at a better time for the UFC middleweight champ.

After his last bout, a lackluster if convincing 49-46, 49-46, 50-45 win over an overmatched Jared Cannonier in July at UFC 276, fans and fighters alike hung the dreaded boring tag on Adesanya.

Like his idol, Anderson Silva, before him, Adesanya's striking and movement are so far above his peers that he's rarely forced to stomp on the gas pedal, allowing him to coast to victories while taking minimal damage. It's a smart strategy but a frustrating one for action junkies, particularly when juxtaposed with the trademark hype Adesanya lays down before the fact.

So, the backlash was probably inevitable. It didn't start with Cannonier—for example, an underwhelming performance in a February rematch with Robert Whittaker also drew criticism —but the bout sent the detractions into a new stratum, with the Las Vegas faithful even walking out en masse toward the end of the contest.

That's not what the UFC wants to see out of arguably its most famous non-Conor McGregor fighter. Enter Pereira and the collision between these two on November 12 at UFC 281 in New York's Madison Square Garden.

The Brazilian has earned 21 knockouts in kickboxing and has five stoppage wins on his 6-1 pro MMA ledger, including a first-round knockout of well-regarded Sean Strickland on the same UFC 276 card and a spectacular flying-knee finish of Andreas Michailidis last year. Not to mention that defeat of Adesanya.

The bout in question was a kickboxing match, well before Adesanya transitioned to MMA. The year was 2017, and Pereira used a short left hook to flatten Adesanya—the only knockout defeat on Adesanya's combat sports resume—at Glory of Heroes 7 in Pereira's hometown of Sao Paulo. To add even more intrigue, Pereira took a decision win over Adesanya in 2016.

There's no question Pereira will be aggressive and wield his crushing power on the feet, essentially compelling Adesanya to up the tempo and the output. That's why it's so opportune. If the legacy-conscious Adesanya can't bring the heat for this matchup, it's hard to know what would bring back the laser-guided destruction of Adesanya's earlier years in the profession.

Adesanya is a slim but significant -165 favorite in the contest, per DraftKings. This suggests Vegas believes Pereira has a path to victory.

So…can he do it?

The fact that he's a converted kickboxer doesn't make Pereira a babe in the woods when it comes to the rest of the MMA skill set. He's training with former light heavyweight titlist and rugged grappler Glover Teixeira at Teixeira's gym in Connecticut.

Adesanya has surely evolved as well since his UFC debut in 2018. Still, don't expect a lot of double-leg takedowns and judo throws. The Nigerian-New Zealander has yet to attempt a takedown in 13 UFC contests. Meanwhile, his takedown defense stands at 81.2 percent, good for fourth among active UFC middleweights.

Pereira's stats are similar, if generated by a smaller sample size. He has no takedowns attempted in three UFC contests and a 73 percent takedown defense rate.

So, in short, while it might be tempting to conclude that Adesanya, by virtue of his experience, would have a ground advantage over Pereira, it's likely this one isn't going to the mat. It's much more likely this one will be an intense stand-up battle.

Statistically speaking, Pereira takes one shot to land two. His 3.36 strikes absorbed per minute is not great, though his 6.29 strikes landed per minute is rock solid. His propensity for head-hunting is at odds with Adesanya's more conservative approach.

When one looks back at his knockout loss to Pereira, it's obvious how far Adesanya has advanced. The 2017 version of the Last Stylebender looks positively flat-footed compared with the fluid footwork and head movement he uses these days. He'll be a lot less hittable in November than he was five years ago.

But Pereira could take a page from the last man to defeat Adesanya: then-light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz. Blachowicz committed to stopping Adesanya's kicking game, checking low kicks and high kicks alike. Low kicks are a specialty of Adesanya's, but against Blachowicz, that part of his game was relatively quiet.

Pereira isn't known for his defense, but there's still a blueprint for success that he'd be wise to follow, especially if a win is more important to him than a war.

Now let's flip it back to the other side: Adesanya is a brilliant fighter at the peak of his powers. That can't be emphasized enough. These "boring" accusations may be valid on some level, but they aren't born out of an eroded skill set or a sudden inability or patent unwillingness to engage. He's still the champ, and he'll need to be dethroned accordingly.

If Pereira wants to do it, he'll need to avoid a protracted chess match. He'll need to commit to aggression and at least a modicum of defense against the counters that will surely come back his way. He'll need to be the hammer to Adesanya's nail.

Can he do it? He surely can. But even if this is strictly a stand-up battle, Pereira will need to take more risks. With his Q rating on the line, Adesanya should answer that call, meaning he'll need to take risks of his own. If he can maintain order within the chaos, the champ will have a good chance to win. But with Pereira's power and fearlessness, he could prove to be—again—the thorn in Adesanya's side.

Statistics via UFCStats and UFC.com unless otherwise noted.

Earlier this year, Oscar De La Hoya expressed the desire to end his long feud with UFC President Dana White. While White was willing to accept De La Hoya's apology, he said he has no intentions of rekindling their friendship.

"I feel like De La Hoya’s apology was sincere, but there’s no way that he and I can ever be friends again,” White said during a fan Q&A with GQ Sports (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “He and I were actually friends. I used to go to his fights. I used to watch his fights. I used to promote his fights. That guy did way too much damage for us to ever be friends again. I appreciate his apology. I get it. We’re cool, but we’re never going to be that cool."

White and De La Hoya's feud dates back to the 2017 fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, which White helped co-promote. De La Hoya said the matchup was "disrespecting the sport of boxing," which obviously didn't sit well with White and sparked their rivalry.

De La Hoya had challenged White to a fight several times during their back-and-forth. White has said a slew of disparaging remarks about the former boxing world champion over the years.

UFC fighter Uriah Hall has announced his retirement from the sport on Instagram:

It is with great sadness that I will be stepping away from the greatest sport in the world. I’m going to miss the incredible UFC staff that has became like family and the mentors I have met along the way. The UFC has given me the Best opportunity to step completely outside my comfort zone. Throughout the years I’ve gone up against some of the best in the world at the highest level. Although I did not achieve the rank of world champion i’ve acquired some of my greatest achievements from mixed martial arts and that was facing my fears and being a champion in life.

The 38-year-old had an 18-11 career record in MMA with 14 wins by knockout. He was ranked 12th in the middleweight division after his July 2 loss to Andre Muniz.

His last bout came nearly a year after his previous match against Sean Strickland, which he lost in a five-round battle that ended by decision.

Hall put forth an impressive resume prior to his recent slide, including a 2020 knockout win over Anderson Silva that represented the final fight in the legend's UFC career.

The Jamaican fighter also has a TKO victory over former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in 2021, as well as wins over contenders like Thiago Santos and Gegard Mousasi. He earned two Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Fight Nights, one after beating Mousasi and another after a win over Krzysztof Jotko.

Hall first came to prominence on season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, reaching the finals before losing to Kelvin Gastelum in the 2013 finale.

Even without getting a title shot, Hall completes an impressive UFC career.

Even after three straight losses, Jorge Masvidal has several targets in mind for his next fight.

The UFC veteran especially wants to take on Conor McGregor, as he told Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.

"The one that makes the most sense is that little b---h Conor," Masvidal said. "I wouldn’t mind getting a fat paycheck for beating that midget’s ass up. I don’t know if it’s going to happen."

He also mentioned welterweight contenders Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards as possibilities.

"Gilbert makes sense, but also, Leon’s been calling me out left and right saying he wants to defend the title [should he beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 278] against me. Let’s go, I’ll go to England and beat your ass again."

Masvidal already lost twice to division champion Kamaru Usman and once to top contender Colby Covington, so a match against Edwards—currently ranked second in the welterweight division—could be a way to regain his standing. The two also have history after a called-off fight last November.

Burns also has beef with Masvidal, who he called a legend while adding "I still wanna beat the s--t out of you," in an interview with TMZ Sports.

Masvidal has been taunting McGregor in recent months as well to goad him into the Octagon.

The 37-year-old is clearly hoping for a high-profile bout that will sell pay-per-views and reestablish himself as a top fighter in the sport.