One man’s injury is another man’s opportunity in the UFC, and that is the case for Ryan MacDonald, who will be making his promotional debut on short notice next month at UFC Nashville.
UFC Nashville takes place on March 23 in the Bridgestone Arena. In a bantamweight bout, Chris Gutierrez was set to take on Martin Day. Unfortunately, Day had to pull out due to injury and the UFC would sign Ryan MacDonald to step in on short notice to take on Gutierrez.
Get to Know Ryan MacDonald:
Ryan MacDonald, who is 25-years-old, was born and raised in North Platte, Nebraska and still currently residing there. MacDonald got into MMA after he got beat up at the age of 17 in high school. Shortly after, he watched the movie Never Back Down and has trained ever since. He had no prior training in other martial arts before training MMA but shortly after would join his high school wrestling team. Now he trains out of both 6910N1 MMA and Fitness. After a good amateur career at 8-5, MacDonald made his pro debut in March of 2015. Despite the losses in his amateur career, MacDonald hit his stride and is currently 8-0. He would become the Midwest Championship Fighting double-champ holding titles at 135 and 145.
How Will Ryan MacDonald Fare in the UFC:
MacDonald is a good talent and has many tools to become a good fighter. On the feet, he has good fundamentals. He has a good jab, throws a lot of kicks including the oblique kick, side kicks, spinning kicks, and roundhouse. MacDonald also is solid when it comes to mixing in punches and kicks into his combinations. He does do well with output but has very little pop behind his strikes. MacDonald should use his wrestling more often as I feel he’s much more effective when mixing in takedowns. He can be slightly sloppy with positions but he is good enough off his back to pose a problem. Although he is more effective once on top as his back takes are solid. Overall, MacDonald is well-rounded but not great anywhere. He can be too patient at times and that’s why he’s gone the distance four times. I believe the Contender series would have been a better move for him to see how he fared against good competition.
How he Matches Up with Chris Gutierrez:
Like MacDonald, Gutierrez has skills but isn’t putting it together as he should. On the feet, MacDonald throws a lot more, while Gutierrez hits harder and is very tentative. Both are better wrestlers with good jiu-jitsu. MacDonald’s takedown defense has held up better but Gutierrez has done well enough over good competition. I think it’s a close fight but I’m not confident either way. If I’m a betting man, I’d stay away but I’m leaning Gutierrez due to his higher-level experience.
