With “Clean Slate,” PFL 3’s Rory MacDonald Treating All Fights Like Championship Fights

Canada’s Rory MacDonald returns to the PFL this Friday for his second season with the league, and the former Bellator MMA champion and UFC contender is looking at 2022 as a fresh start.

The PFL format, after all, lends itself to that. At PFL 3, MacDonald (22-8-1) goes up against Brett Cooper, looking to move on from a pair of difficult losses last year.

“It’s a fresh start. Clean slate. I’m going to take from last year, my disappointments, and learn from them, and go out there to fix my errors,” MacDonald told Cageside Press during Wednesday’s PFL 3 media day. “I feel like the work I put in in the off-season is going to pay off here, now that the season is starting. I have a lot of confidence going into this year.”

In particular, MacDonald revealed that he moved his training camp, “and I feel like it was a great fit for me. I was happy in my training camp, and the skills I picked up in it, I was able to implement them in my sparring, and I feel very confident with it. I feel at my best. I’ve just got to carry what I’ve done in my training camp into the fights, and I think I’ll do well.”

While MacDonald is still affiliated with the world-renowned Tri-Star, he spent part of his most recent training camp in Austin, Texas, alongside John Danaher, Garry Tonon, Tim Kennedy, and others.

Now, MacDonald makes his season debut against Brett Cooper, who had a lengthy run in Bellator MMA a few years back.

“Brett’s a tough guy with a lot of experience, and I’m sure he’s going to bring a tough fight,” MacDonald predicted. “But I’m going to go out there as if this was my championship fight. I think all my fights at this point of my career, they’re going to have that meaning for me. So I’m going in there, trying to make a statement against him, and no matter who else I come across, I’m going for the finish whether it be by knockout or submission.”

Rory MacDonald faces Brett Cooper at PFL 3 this Friday, May 6, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. Be sure to check out MacDonald’s full media day appearance above. More coverage can be found below.