Rory MacDonald is currently set to fight for Bellator MMA welterweight gold against Douglas Lima early next year. However, the former UFC title challenger has opened up about a comment he made a month ago on Reddit, suggesting that then-champion Robbie Lawler was on performance enhancing drugs when the pair fought for the second time in 2015. That would be their Fight of the Year classic at UFC 189.
On Reddit, when asked whether he felt Lawler was on PEDs, his answer was simply that “I’m convinced he was.”
MacDonald expanded on the statement in a new interview with MMA Fighting. In it, he outlines his reasoning for feeling that Lawler might have had a little “help” in their UFC 189 title fight. “He never slowed down” he told the site. “I would hurt him and his output was high, high, high and he never really lost power and endurance. He just kept the pace and kept the power no matter how hurt or tired he was. He always was recovered very fast. It made me very suspicious.”
“Obviously, I think Robbie is a tank of a person. He’s got that fire and that will and the rage and that anger in him that burns and pushes him through those hard moments. He’s an absolute warrior. I’m not disagreeing with that. But I do believe he was taking some s**t.”
Just what that s**t was, we may never know. However, MacDonald also referenced what he considered as “suspicious” test results Lawler had back in 2015. Bloody Elbow broke down those results in an excellent piece here. That test was carried out by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
To date, Lawler has passed all of his tests under the USADA program, which the UFC brought in shortly before Lawler and MacDonald fought. Between July 1 and October 1 of 2015, just 50 UFC fighters were tested under the then-fledgling program. Clearly, the program is much more robust today.
Per USADA’s Athlete Test History, Lawler has been tested 21 times since the anti-doping program was launched.
Lawler (28–11 (1)) is coming off a decision victory against Donald Cerrone at UFC 214. MacDonald (19-4), meanwhile, won his Bellator debut at Bellator 179 against Paul Daley.
