With UFC 189 now in the books as one of greatest main cards of all time, Firas Zahabi can look back on his pupil Rory MacDonald’s performance with a lot of pride. And of course, as his head coach at the Tristar Gym in Montreal, a little bit of that tough love understanding.
After a classic back-and-forth battle with current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in the co-main event Saturday night, MacDonald was finally dropped in the fifth round by a left hand that smashed into his already broken nose. The battle will go down as a Fight of the Year candidate for 2015, yet it stings a little more given what we know now.