UFC 189 will go into the record books as on of the best fight cards of all time. I’m not spewing unsubstantiated opinion here, I mean of all time. Fact of the matter is that there has not been as universally recognized night of fantastic fights on a PPV, in well, ever. Credit goes to the fighters who all collectively brought their “A-game” to what was one of the most hyped and anticipated fight cards in modern history. While the card was filled, repeat filled, with fantastic fights and finishes the real winner of the night has to go to the instant classic brought fourth in the battle between UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald.
Almost an afterthought given the enormous shadow cast upon the card by spectacle that is the Conor McGregor hype train, very little attention was paid to the Lawler-MacDonald co-main event. This, despite the fact that Lawler is widely popular among the most diehard fanboys in the sport. Not to mention that Rory MacDonald has all but been groomed to one day sit atop the 170 lbs throne and it is surprising in retrospect that more coverage was not given to what, by all metrics, was a very competitive fight.
Of course, as karma would have it, the Lawler-MacDonald fight stole the proverbial show. This, again, in spite of McGregor’s title winning performance against Chad Mendes and the entirety of UFC 189 being a wickedly awesome fight card from top to bottom. But legendary fights in combat sports are rarely preordained and grow organically when the hearts of the two combatants refuse to be outdone by their respective rival. Fights like Hagler-Hearns, Corrales-Castillo, Henderson-Rua are beautifully brutal affairs that leave viewers emotionally drained.
This was the case in Lawler vs MacDonald. It was a five round war of attrition that left MacDonald with a face the resembled the alien emoii on your iPhone. While Lawler was able to retain his title with the come from behind TKO the real winners of the night were the fight fans fortunate enough to witness an epic battle for the ages.
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