Rory MacDonald almost effortlessly put Che Mills to the sword tonight at UFC 145, handing him a brutal ground and pound beating that left him battered and bruised by the time the second round stoppage put an end to his misery.
Mills showed his striking prowess in the very early stages of the first round, catching MacDonald with a solid right hand. That gave him confidence and he continued to press forward,
That certainly got MacDonald’s attention and he opted to take the fight to the mat and quickly secured a takedown.
MacDonald wasted no time in taking advantage of the position, blasting away at Mills face with punches and elbows and opened up a cut on his forehead and damaged his cheek.
Things then got worse for Mills as MacDonald moved to side control and then easily secured the crucifix position, landing punches from there.
Mills gets out briefly, but MacDonald pulls him down again and moves into full mount. Mills looks completely outclassed on the ground and in the closing seconds he rolls and is being threatened with a choke as the round ends.
Mills face is a mess with considerable swelling on his cheek noticeable amongst the damage as he comes out for the second round.
Unfortunately for the UK fighter there’s only more pain to come as this fight continues. Another effortless takedown from MacDonald, smoothly moving to side control and then full mount signals the beginning of the end.
Mills again rolls onto his back and MacDonald makes him pay for it with a series of hard-hitting strikes forcing the referee to intervene with 2.20mins of the second round gone.
Though Mills lack of ground skills has to be kept in mind, MacDonald unquestionably put on a ground and pound clinic in this fight and continued to highlight his swift rise to prominence in the welterweight division.
He really needs to get a big name opponent next time out as MacDonald is certainly showing all the signs of being a future title contender at 170lbs.
