Rory MacDonald suffered another broken nose as a result of his fight against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, and it will likely land him in surgery this time.
Last July, MacDonald’s nose was smashed in a five-round war with welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, and the damage done directly led to the end of the fight.
MacDonald had to take several months off to allow his nose to recover and when he returned on Saturday night it had been nearly a year since he had competed inside the Octagon.
Unfortunately the time away from the cage didn’t give his nose any more stability and MacDonald says he took a shot in the fifth round against Thompson that once again caused a severe break.
“Fifth round, during a trade, we were both trading a little bit. I don’t know what it was, I was just trying to throw combinations and duck my head but something landed and I felt the waterfall start. The familiar feeling,” MacDonald described at the post-fight press conference.
“I broke it actually a couple times before this fight. I have no idea. I gave it time, it kept breaking. I don’t know if surgery’s going to be the best route. I really just have to take time and at least I’d probably look into surgery, see if that can make it stronger because just time off didn’t do (expletive).”
While the pain from a shattered nose forced him to stop the fight with Lawler last year, MacDonald says this time around he toughed it out until the end, but the result was still the same.
Chances are MacDonald will seek out a surgeon to see if his nose can be reset and stabilized so it won’t break so easily in the future.
If MacDonald does have surgery, it would likely require another lengthy layoff for the top-ranked welterweight contender, but it’s probably well served if it allows his nose to get healthy and repaired for good this time.
“My nose needs surgery,” MacDonald said. “I’m going to need some time.”
MacDonald also became a free agent after his fight with Thompson on Saturday as his current contract with the UFC came to an end.
The Canadian didn’t address his pending future or negotiations with the UFC, but for now his main concern is healing his nose so he can return to action as soon as possible.