Michael McDonald (fighter)

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Michael McDonald
Born Michael Robert McDonald
(1991-01-15) January 15, 1991
Other names Mayday
Nationality American
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Division Bantamweight
Reach 70 in (178 cm)
Fighting out of Modesto, California
Team Oakdale MMA
Rank brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active 2007 - present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 19
Wins 16
By knockout 9
By submission 5
By decision 2
Losses 3
By knockout 1
By submission 2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Michael Robert McDonald (born (1991-01-15)January 15, 1991 in Modesto, California) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division of the UFC. A professional fighter since 2007, McDonald fought mostly in regional promotions in his home state of California before signing with Zuffa in 2010. As of January 17, 2014, he is #2 in official UFC bantamweight rankings.[1]

Career

Background

McDonald started training in kickboxing at the age of ten, turned to mixed martial arts at 14, and turned professional at 16 in 2007. He also has two brothers who have careers in mixed martial arts.[2]

Early career

He gained notable wins on the regional circuit defeating WEC veteran Manny Tapia and former WEC Featherweight Champion, Cole Escovedo. Against the latter, McDonald later avenged his only professional defeat, which also earned him the Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweight title with a second round KO. In the summer of 2010, he was listed as one of the top rising stars under the age of 25.[3]

World Extreme Cagefighting

In September 2010, at age 19, McDonald became the youngest fighter on the Zuffa roster when he signed with the WEC. He defeated Clint Godfrey via first round submission in his promotional debut on November 11, 2010 at WEC 52.[4]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[5]

McDonald was expected to face Nick Pace on March 26, 2011 at UFC Fight Night 24.[6] However, Pace was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Edwin Figueroa.[7] The fight was highly entertaining with both fighters exchanging strikes and submission attempts throughout the entire fight and earned Fight of the Night honors. McDonald won the fight via unanimous decision.

McDonald faced Chris Cariaso on May 30, 2011 at UFC 130, replacing an injured Norifumi Yamamoto.[8] He won the fight via split decision.

McDonald was expected to face Johnny Eduardo on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139.[9] However, Eduardo was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Alex Soto.[10] McDonald defeated Soto via first round KO, earning Knockout of the Night honors. McDonald clipped Soto with a counter right hand and then swarmed Soto with a flurry of punches against the fence, forcing the referee to stop the bout just 59 seconds into the first round.

McDonald fought former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Angel Torres on April 21, 2012 at UFC 145.[11] He won the fight via first round KO.

On December 4, 2012, UFC President Dana White announced that the UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz had reinjured his ACL requiring surgery and would be out for 6–9 months. McDonald faced the UFC Interim Bantamweight Champion Renan Barão on February 16, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald.[12] Mcdonald was competitive with capable take-down defense and crisp boxing - particularly in the first two rounds - but ultimately succumbed to Barão's more diverse skillset as he mixed in knees and kicks standing together with take-downs. Barão secured an arm-triangle choke at 3:57 of the fourth round, forcing the tap from McDonald.

McDonald faced Brad Pickett on August 17, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26.[13] He dominated the first round, almost knocking out the durable Pickett before gaining a second round submission victory with a triangle choke.[14] The win also earned McDonald his first Submission of the Night award, and he and Pickett earned the Fight of the Night bonus award as well.[15]

McDonald faced Urijah Faber on December 14, 2013 at UFC on Fox 9.[16] McDonald lost a fast-paced fight to Faber in the second round. After being dropped and nearly finished by a flurry of hard hitting punches, McDonald was caught on the ground by a guillotine choke, being forced to tap out.[17]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 16-3 Urijah Faber Submission (guillotine choke) UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 December 14, 2013 2 3:22 Sacramento, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 16-2 Brad Pickett Submission (triangle choke) UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen August 17, 2013 2 3:43 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Fight of the Night. Submission of the Night.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 15-2 Renan Barão Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald February 16, 2013 4 3:57 London, England For the Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 15-1 Miguel Torres KO (punches) UFC 145 April 21, 2012 1 3:18 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 14-1 Alex Soto KO (punches) UFC 139 November 19, 2011 1 0:56 San Jose, California, United States Knockout of the Night
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 13-1 Chris Cariaso Decision (split) UFC 130 May 28, 2011 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 12-1 Edwin Figueroa Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis March 26, 2011 3 5:00 Seattle, Washington, United States Fight of the Night
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 11-1 Clint Godfrey Submission (armbar) WEC 52 November 11, 2010 1 2:42 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 10-1 Cole Escovedo KO (punches) Tachi Palace Fights 5: Stars and Strikes July 9, 2010 2 1:12 Lemoore, California, United States Won TPF Bantamweight Championship
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 9-1 Manny Tapia TKO (punches) Tachi Palace Fights 3: Champions Collide February 4, 2010 1 4:31 Lemoore, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 8-1 Carlos Garces TKO (punches) Tachi Palace Fights 1 October 8, 2009 1 2:01 Lemoore, California, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 7-1 Cole Escovedo TKO (punches) PFC 13: Validation May 8, 2009 2 2:25 Lemoore, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7-0 Jason Georgianna TKO (punches) PFC 12: High Stakes January 22, 2009 1 2:38 Lemoore, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6-0 Randy Rodoni KO (punch) Gladiator Challenge 86: Day of the Dead November 2, 2008 1 0:47 Porterville, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5-0 Fernando Arreola Submission (D'arce choke) Gladiator Challenge 84: Bad Blood September 7, 2008 1 3:49 Porterville, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4-0 Javier Vargas TKO (punches) Gladiator Challenge 81: Lights Out July 27, 2008 1 1:38 Porterville, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3-0 Steve Frano TKO (punches) Gladiator Challenge 78: No Limits May 18, 2008 1 1:17 Porterville, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2-0 Dominic Pena Submission (arm triangle choke) Gladiator Challenge 76: Alpha Dog Challenge March 17, 2008 1 1:12 Porterville, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1-0 Joe Corona Submission (triangle choke) Gladiator Challenge 71: Lock-N-Load November 11, 2007 1 1:17 Porterville, California, United States

References

  1. ↑ UFC Fighter Rankings
  2. ↑ "Fight Path: Training since age 10, TPF champ Michael McDonald besting family tradition". mmajunkie.com. July 15, 2010. 
  3. ↑ "The Top 25 MMA Fighters Under The Age Of 25". bleacherreport.com. July 21, 2010. 
  4. ↑ "Clint Godfrey returns at WEC 52, meets newcomer Michael McDonald". mmajunkie.com. September 9, 2010. 
  5. ↑ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Michael McDonald vs. Nick Pace targeted for UFC Fight Night 24 in Seattle". mmajunkie.com. January 11, 2011. 
  7. ↑ "Edwin Figueroa Replaces Nick Pace at UFC Fight Night 24, Faces Michael McDonald". mmaweekly.com. March 16, 2011. 
  8. ↑ "McDonald replaces injured "Kid" Yamamoto, meets Cariaso at UFC 130". mmajunkie.com. April 28, 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Michael McDonald vs. Johnny Eduardo added to UFC 139 fight card". mmaweekly.com. September 28, 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Newcomer Alex Soto meets Michael McDonald at next week's UFC 139 event". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2011-11-09. 
  11. ↑ "UFC 145: Miguel Torres vs Michael McDonald fight announced". mmamania.com. January 20, 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Renan Barao-Michael McDonald title fight set for UFC on FUEL TV 7 in London". mmajunkie.com. December 6, 2012. 
  13. ↑ Mike Bohn (2013-06-04). "Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald added to UFC on FOX Sports 1 debut event in Boston". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2013-06-04. 
  14. ↑ http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2013/8/17/4629468/ufc-fight-night-26-results-michael-mcdonald-vs-brad-pickett-mma-news
  15. ↑ Staff (2013-08-17). "UFC Fight Night 26 bonuses: Browne, Brown, Sonnen, McDonald, Pickett earn awards". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2013-08-17. 
  16. ↑ Damon Martin (2013-09-11). "Urijah Faber vs. Michael McDonald Set as Co-Main Event for UFC on Fox 9". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2013-09-11. 
  17. ↑ http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/news/440194/UFC-on-FOX-9-results--discussion/

External links

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