ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Jon Jones retained his light heavyweight title Saturday with a unanimous decision over Rashad Evans at UFC 145 in Atlanta.

Evans could never mount a consistent attack and lost by judges’ scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45. ESPN.com scored the fight 50-45 for Jones.

The victory ends, or at least tempers, a long-running feud between the former sparring partners.

While Jones (16-1) successfully defended his belt for the third time, he displayed more caution against Evans than in previous title bouts. His cautious approach might be contributed to having faced Evans often in camp.

“I did a lot of things tonight that weren’t planned,” Jones said. “My striking was looking a little elementary. I didn’t want to make mistakes.

“But who I beat was very important to me.

“It felt completely different fighting [Evans]. Tonight I threw a lot of elbows. Those are the things you would never do to a training partner.”

The elbows, especially in the second round, slowed Evans’ attack. They also left swelling above the former light heavyweight champion’s right eye.

After suffering the injury, Evans spent much of the fight protecting that right side of his face. Evans also failed to take Jones to the canvas.

The lone time Jones was on his back came in the fifth round when he pulled guard. But that occurred with seconds remaining in the bout.

“He was pretty crafty and pretty tricky,” Evans said. "He threw some things he didn’t throw in practice, but there were some things he did better in practice than he did tonight.”

Evans suffered just the second loss of his career. He is 17-2-1 overall.

MacDonald finished Mills in impressive fashion

If Rory MacDonald was to be taken seriously as a welterweight contender, he needed to pass a presumed stiff test in Che Mills.

MacDonald passed the test with flying colors.

He dominated Mills in the first round, taking him to the ground quickly and landing hard punches. When the horn sounded to end the round, Mills’ face was bruised, cut and bloody.

By the start of the second, there was little doubt MacDonald would come out victorious.

He quickly took Mills back to the ground and again landed punches. Mills was on his back and had no strategy to reverse his misfortune.

And MacDonald (14-1) wasn’t about to help him find an answer. Once he got Mills’ back, MacDonald aggressively landed punches that forced referee Mario Yamasaki to step in at the 2:20 mark.

“Che was a great opponent,” MacDonald said. “I took this fight very serious. I’m very happy with the way the fight went.”

Mills fell to 14-5 with one no-contest.

Rothwell stops Schaub by TKO in Round 1

Brendan Schaub isn’t afraid to exchange punches with the biggest, strongest heavyweights in mixed martial arts. That lack of fear, however, cost him against hard-hitting Ben Rothwell.

During a vicious exchange, Rothwell landed a left hook to the head that rendered Schaub unconscious at 1:10 of the first round.

“I worked very, very hard,” Rothwell said. “I changed my workout. I’m not backing down. I know my chin can take some shots.”

Rothwell improved to 32-8. He is 2-2 inside the Octagon competition.

Schaub, who not long ago was one of the fastest rising heavyweights in the UFC, has dropped two in a row. He is now 8-3 overall.

McDonald knocks out ex-champ Torres

The road back to the top of the bantamweight division became a lot more bumpy for former WEC champion Miguel Torres.

Michael McDonald landed a hard right uppercut in Round 1 that sent Torres to the canvas. Torres was asleep before hitting the ground.

The fight would end at the 3:18 mark, dropping Torres to 40-5.

While Torres’ professional record still looks impressive on paper, it's deceiving: Four of his five losses came in Torres’ seven most recent fights.

“I was paying attention to his range,” McDonald said. “I wanted to make sure he didn’t get his jab off.”

McDonald improves to 15-1. He has won eight fights in a row.

Hominick drops third fight in a row

Former top featherweight contender Mark Hominick continues to struggle to find his groove.

For the second straight fight, Hominick failed to rebound from his UFC 129 unanimous decision loss to champion Jose Aldo.

Eddie Yagin registered knockdowns in the first and second rounds to edge Hominick by split decision.

Two judges scored it 29-28 for Yagin, who improved to 16-5-1. The third judge and ESPN.com had Hominick winning 29-28.

Hominick (20-11) ate right hands from Yagin during most of the bout. And in the first two rounds he was dropped by Yagin right hands.

Despite tasting hard right hands, Hominick found his rhythm in the third and punished Yagin with still left jabs and hard right hands.

But that knockdown in the closely contested second round proved too much for Hominick to overcome.

Bocek takes down Alessio

Mark Bocek is one of the most underrated lightweights in UFC. But he might have turned that around with a unanimous decision over veteran John Alessio.

The fight was scored 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27. ESPN.com had Bocek winning 29-28.

Bocek came into the bout as the superior ground fighter and wasted little time proving it. He took Alessio to the ground early in the first round and punished him with hard left elbows.

But while Bocek had the advantage on the ground, Alessio was better standing. And in the second he caught Bocek repeatedly with left-right combinations.

Bocek (11-4) would get Alessio on the ground briefly, but they stood for most of the round.

Alessio, a former welterweight, slips to 34-15.

Browne submits Griggs in first

Taking on hard-hitting Travis Browne is proving to be a difficult task. Chad Griggs became the latest heavyweight to learn this lesson.

Browne improved to 13-0-1 with a first-round submission of Griggs. The loss was just the second for Griggs as a pro.

Browne entered the fight determined to make a statement. He was disappointed after his most recent outing -- a unanimous decision over Rob Broughton.

During that fight at UFC 135 in Denver’s high altitude, Browne was sluggish as he gasped for air. But cardio never became a factor for Browne in Atlanta.

He landed a hard left knee that stunned Griggs. Browne than took his opponent to the ground, where he applied an arm triangle that forced Griggs to tap at 2:29.

“I belong here,” Browne said. “UFC heavyweights, watch out baby.”

Griggs fell to 11-2.

Brown hands Thompson his first pro loss

For the first time in his professional mixed martial arts career, Stephen Thompson suffered a loss.

Veteran Matt Brown used his experience and superior ground skills to punish Thompson for three rounds during their welterweight bout.

The judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-27 and 30-27 for Thompson. ESPN.com scored it 30-27 for Brown.

Brown’s experience would prove especially beneficial in the second round.

With Thompson finally able to get his striking game untracked, a wobbly Brown (14-11) landed a hard right hand. The punch put Thompson on his back.

On the ground, Brown landed an elbow that opened a cut on Thompson’s forehead.

Both fighters were exhausted entering the third, but Brown was able to take Thompson to the ground and punish him.

Brown would get Thompson (6-1) in a mounted triangle, where he began landing several left hands.

Longer Njokuani shuts out Makdessi

In a 158-pound catchweight bout, Anthony Njokuani landed kicks to the head and body of John Makdessi en route to a unanimous decision.

All three judges, as well as ESPN.com, scored the fight 30-27.

Njokuani (15-6, one no contest) stunned Makdessi with a hard left hook on the chin. He would utilize a 7½-inch reach advantage to land most of his strikes and stay out of harm’s way.

Makdessi, despite not finding a solution to Njokuani’s reach, continued to press the action throughout the fight. But entering the third round his left leg was showing the damage done from absorbing numerous kicks.

Makdessi’s left leg was badly bruised.

The fight, originally slated for 155 pounds, became a catchweight bout when Makdessi (9-2) came in two pounds over the lightweight limit during Friday’s weigh-ins.

Danzig ignores injured ankle to beat Escudero

In the battle of former TUF winners, lightweight Mac Danzig overcame a badly swollen right ankle to earn a unanimous decision over Efrain Escudero.

The judges scored the fight 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. ESPN.com scored the fight 30-27 for Danzig.

Danzig controlled the standup with his jab and an occasional left hook. But Escudero nearly finished him in the first round with a right ankle hook.

Danzig, however, escaped the submission attempt and despite swelling to his ankle fought hard in the second and third rounds.

The damaged ankle did not prevent Danzig from applying pressure on Escudero, who could not find a rhythm in any of the three rounds.

Danzig, the Season 6 "Ultimate Fighter" winner at welterweight, improved to 21-9-1. Escudero, a TUF Season 8 lightweight champion, slipped to 18-5.

Clements punishes Wisniewski with strikes

Chris Clements landed hard strikes in the second and third rounds to earn a split decision in his UFC debut over fellow welterweight Keith Wisniewski.

Clements persuaded two judges who gave him scores of 29-28 and 30-27. The third judge favored Wisniewski 29-28. ESPN.com scored the fight for Clements 29-28.

After a close first round, in which Clements (11-4) was taken to the ground, he picked up his striking attack in the second and third. He hit Wisniewski with hard punches, elbows and spinning back kicks.

Wisniewski (28-14-1) absorbed the punishment and fought hard, but the accumulation of strikes began to wear him down late in the third round.

Brimage holds off Blanco

Despite tasting several front kicks in the second round, Marcus Brimage refused to back down in the third and secured a split decision over Maximo Blanco in a featherweight bout.

Two judges scored the fight for Brimage 30-27 and 29-28, while the third had it 29-28 for Blanco. ESPN.com scored it for Brimage 29-28.

Brimage (5-1) was the more aggressive fighter in Round 1, landing hard punches. But after tasting several front kicks on the chin, he fought more cautiously in the second.

Seemingly aware that the third round would likely decide the outcome, Brimage picked up the pace. He remained somewhat cautious of Blanco’s kicks, but took the risks and came forward.

Blanco, who made his featherweight debut after competing previously at lightweight, falls to 8-4-1 with one no-contest. He has lost two fights in a row.

ATLANTA -- Given the backstory between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, the concept of teammates fighting teammates is a hot one heading into this weekend’s UFC 145 event at Philips Arena.

Welterweights Rory MacDonald and Georges St. Pierre seem confident they are on the same page when it comes to the issue.

The 22-year-old MacDonald told ESPN.com on Thursday he would rather make a move to the middleweight division than ever face St. Pierre in the cage -- even if it meant consistently giving up a size advantage.

“Me and Georges are teammates and friends, so it’s not going to get to that point like it did with Rashad and Jones,” MacDonald said. “I understand people want to see that drama, but I’m not big into drama.

“Hopefully, he retires or he moves up. Whatever. I’ll wait my turn. I’m not scared of fighting bigger guys. I don’t really care about my size. I’ll fight small.”

St. Pierre, who is expected to defend his title against Carlos Condit later this year after undergoing knee surgery, said the same, adding there are plenty of options for both of them to fight at 170 pounds other than each other.

“I’m not interested in fighting him,” St. Pierre said. “There are a lot of welterweights. I don’t think we have to do it now. In two years, who knows? Maybe I’ll go to middleweight.

“He’s a friend -- like a brother for me. I just hope the best for him and I know one day he’ll be world champion.”

Both seemed to suggest the thought of fighting each other is still years down the road anyway. MacDonald pointed out the fact he’s still very young in his career, while St. Pierre pointed to the number of other contenders in the weight class.

And yet, both also pointed out reasons to suggest that day might not be so far away. MacDonald admitted that he’s “creeping up on Georges,” in terms of skills, and said he could defeat Condit, the No. 2 fighter in the division, in a rematch any time.

That said, it sounds as though there have been private discussions between the two to eliminate the circumstances that fueled the rivalry between Jones and Evans.

“It’s a thing in the gym,” MacDonald said. “It’s a rule in the gym.”

St. Pierre did acknowledge anything can change in life and no one knows what the future holds -- but as of right now, he has no intention of ever fighting a teammate.

“I have a hard time fighting a guy I like,” St. Pierre said. “When I fought Jake Shields, I had a hard time.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the future. Sometimes stuff happens and people separate. People are friends in the beginning and then not. But right now, I’m not interested [in fighting MacDonald] at all.”

This Saturday’s main event between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans is the cautionary tale of what becomes of elite teammates who coexist in the same weight class.

It’s fitting for this card, because you know who looks a lot like the Jon Jones of two years ago? Rory MacDonald -- the guy who is being showcased in the co-main event at UFC 145 against Che Mills. Why a showcase? Because it’s an honest-looking challenge in a fight everybody expects the upstart to win. Just like when Jones fought guys like Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko. These fights happened right after Jones relocated from an anonymous upstate New York gym to Greg Jackson’s contender’s den in Albuquerque, N.M.

That was around the time he began training with Evans, who started off as his mentor -- the big brother who had a hand in molding raw talent. Even with Jones’ radar going off, it didn’t seem like Jones was coming for Evans' legacy at the time -- at least, not to them. To us, it always appeared different.

You see where things ended up.

Another win narrows MacDonald’s path to the top. The top is the determined goal for a young fighter who wants to rewrite history at 170 pounds. That means the top will also present itself as a crossroads, because Georges St. Pierre -- a training partner that MacDonald calls his mentor -- currently occupies that rarified space. MacDonald moved across country, from British Columbia to French Quebec, to train with St. Pierre.

Since then he’s won a pair in a row, including a one-sided drubbing of Nate Diaz. To be the best, you learn from the best.

Problem is, there can be only one best.

When I spoke to MacDonald for a piece in ESPN the Magazine last month, he laid it out.

“There’s no question that I’m going to be champion; it’s about when,” he said. “And that’s not my only goal in this sport. First, I’m going to get that done, but you guys will see in the future, I’m going to accomplish things that nobody else has done in this sport. I have a long career ahead of me; I just have to stay smart.”

Right now, MacDonald and St. Pierre are leaving such eventualities to blow around in the abstract. That’s fine. There are a million scenarios that could prevent a GSP/MacDonald encounter down the road. MacDonald, only 22, could slip along the way -- or move up in weight. Ditto St. Pierre, who has flirted with middleweight. St. Pierre could retire, or never recover from that knee injury. He could even lose to Condit.

Easier to imagine? He just keeps being GSP, the dominating force who is forever vigilant of complacency -- the last of his known vulnerabilities (thanks to Matt Serra).

But MacDonald is coming. If he beats Mills (and does so impressively), he’ll be a consensus top-10 welterweight. From there, all rungs take him a little bit closer to detachment. There’s a reason it’s lonely at the top.

“At the moment, you know, Georges is a friend of mind, and we train at the same gym with the same trainers with the same regiment,” he said in the Magazine interview. “Georges has looked out for me for the last year and been a good friend, and I have to respect that. I just never say never, but Georges is a friend of mine, and it’s something I can’t answer right now. I don’t foresee it.”

Neither did Jones see the clash on the horizon with Evans. Not seeing it doesn’t mean it’s not on course to happen, it just means it’s preferable not to look.

In a year or two, it could be MacDonald in the headlining spot fighting for the belt. His potential is great enough that it doesn’t seem far-fetched in the slightest. If and when the time comes, to achieve what he's after, the man standing in front of him can’t matter.

Is it wrong to kind of like a George St. Pierre-less welterweight division?

Not that we don’t want him back in November, but these last few months have been kind of fun, yeah? For starters, the St. Pierre injury story is great in itself. No fighter has been able to legitimately challenge him in years. Can a knee injury do it?

Because to be honest, the novelty of St. Pierre ho-hummingly dominating opponents one five-round fight after another had started to wear off. It was still an impressive run, absolutely, but -- come on. In sports, we’re supposed to get drama. We like two-minute drills. We like half-court prayers. We like a man on third, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, down by one.

What’s been kind of nice about St. Pierre being out to start 2012 is that it’s allowed us to envision a welterweight division without such a dominant champ. And what that vision looks like are razor-thin title fights and a serious group of contenders who would trade the belt back and forth between themselves for years.

From a business standpoint, you don’t mind the St. Pierre model. A dominant champ entices casual fans to watch and see what the fuss is about. Hardcore fans will tune in as well, if for no other reason to make absolutely sure they are watching when he loses.

But from a sports fan perspective, I think most would admit they’re ready to see what “St. Pierre in trouble” looks like again. The eye injury he suffered during the Jake Shields win was certainly adversity he had to overcome, but it’s not like the outcome of that fight was ever in question.

So, here’s the question: Can any of these welterweights we’re getting excited about during St. Pierre’s absence actually beat him when he comes back? As I did in October with the lightweights, let’s sort out which of these guys has the best shot at being the one to end St. Pierre’s reign.

The “if stars align and everything imaginable goes your way then maybe ... but still probably not” Group: Dan Hardy, Diego Sanchez, John Hathaway, Rick Story, Dong Hyun Kim.

Go on, laugh at Hardy even being included on this list. Hey, he’s about as long as a long shot can be. But if the organization is willing to hang on to him after four fairly miserable outings, then what’s to say they wouldn’t reward him with a title shot quickly if he were to get hot again?

Sanchez is interesting because if I’m a UFC welterweight I say to myself, “Man, I should call out Diego. I’m pretty sure I can beat him and he’s a big name to add to my résumé.” The only problem is I do that, then I get to the third round of the fight and Sanchez is still coming forward, spewing blood from the nose I’m pretty sure I broke with my knee in the first round and, suddenly, I’m scared. Not sure of what exactly, but definitely scared. This will happen in the next two years: A rising prospect calls out Sanchez and loses.

The “Any way we could combine these two?”: Thiago Alves, Martin Kampmann.

I think last weekend’s fight summed up both fighters pretty well. Kampmann is a gamer with tremendous will but he lacks elite-type athleticism. Alves is the opposite -- he might be the best athlete in the division but he’s vulnerable to mental lapses.

It’s not a terrible idea to go for a takedown in the final minute of a fight you’re winning to remove the flash KO threat, but in these circumstances (Kampmann has five submission wins in the UFC against one TKO) it was bad judgment. And the worst part is, fair or not, we’ve sort of come to expect this from Alves. For the record, though, of these two, I still give Alves a better shot overall at ever holding the belt.

The potential feel-good story of the century: Jake Shields.

If this were Hollywood, wouldn’t you lay everything you’ve got on Shields having a monster year in 2012 and claiming the belt in 2013? In the movie world, St. Pierre would be made out as a way more sinister foe in their first fight and maybe, after the loss to Ellenberger, movie Shields would go on some month-long drinking/partying binge that threatens to end his fighting career. But by the time the credits rolled, he’d be pointing up to the sky with a title belt around his waist.

It could happen. We know the guy is talented. He’s 33 and hasn’t taken a ton of damage despite a lengthy career. And I still think, for whatever reason, we caught Shields on an off night at UFC 129.

The blazing hot prospect and the simmering hot prospect: Rory MacDonald, Erick Silva.

Some of you will no doubt have MacDonald higher on your list, but I can’t quite pull the trigger on a 22-year-old whose biggest win is arguably over string bean Nate Diaz. Don’t get me wrong, I love MacDonald as a future titleholder, just not sure if you can rank him higher than these other guys right now.

Silva, same thing. He certainly looks the part, but so far both opponents he’s fought in the UFC took the fight on short notice and both came within friendly confines of his home country.

The old faithfuls: Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch.

These guys have been here for years and they’ll continue to be here through at least 2013. Fitch’s loss to Johny Hendricks could mean nothing. It was 12 seconds. He was facing some serious ring rust. If you think it’s the last we’ve seen of him, it’s probably because you just don’t like him and it’s clouding your judgment.

Koscheck gets the opportunity to avenge his friend’s loss against Hendricks in May. It’s a surprising fight to me because you’re risking a possible No. 1 contender to a guy who, as long as St. Pierre has the belt, can’t really be a No. 1 contender. Koscheck is high on this list because of his skills but frankly, a lot of things outside his control need to happen if he’s ever going to win the welterweight title.

The "highly" unlikely: Nick Diaz.

He’s probably getting a one-year suspension. If that’s the case, he can’t fight until February 2013. What kind of fight does he pull when he gets back? There will still be a lot of interest in a St. Pierre fight, even if St. Pierre isn’t even holding the belt, but do you really like his chances in that fight after such a long layoff? I don’t. So, would he get a “tune-up” fight first? Even if he did, it would be against a legitimate guy with a real chance at beating him. If that happens, he probably needs to win two more fights to get a title shot. Sorry, but there are just enough unknowns right now that I no longer love Diaz’s chances. He still claims a high spot on this list though because when he comes back, a matchup against St. Pierre is so marketable the UFC will so its best to put it together.

The favorites: Carlos Condit, Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks.

In that order. Condit sits at the top thanks mainly to the intangibles on his side. He’s getting the next opportunity to do it -- at least that’s what it looks like. St. Pierre will be dealing with a very long layoff and he’ll be competing for the first time on his reconstructed knee. Stylistically, he faces an uphill battle in my opinion but not an insurmountable one. If he can stay on his feet, he’ll hit St. Pierre. He’ll get taken down but he’s terrific at escapes and he’s very tough mentally. He won’t be intimidated and he’ll keep working even if things don’t go well early.

Ellenberger is actually my favorite to get it done from a stylistic standpoint. I think he’s the most athletically gifted of the three and I like his standup a little over Hendricks’, although they both clearly hit hard. It would be good if he was a little bigger, but St. Pierre isn’t a huge welterweight either. He’d be very dangerous in a fight against the champ, especially early in the fight.

Hendricks is right there as well. He has the game changer in the left hand and, although St. Pierre would frustrate him a bit in the speed aspect, he’s not an easy opponent to control.

When it’s all said and done though, I guess this is all for naught because it’s very difficult to see anyone unseating St. Pierre. My guess is he makes this whole knee-injury, layoff ordeal look easy. That is, after all, the St. Pierre we’ve come to know.

There were those who thought that Nick Diaz beat Carlos Condit at UFC 143, pointing to his constant pursuit as evidence. Diaz stalked, mocked and talked. He was "Stalkton." He was exactly who we thought he was.

Problem was, Condit wasn’t.

Condit went into the nastiest kind of retreat, one that stuck and ducked and moved and circled and landed leg kicks and counter shots with isolated ease. Isolated? Wait -- wasn’t Condit supposed to stand in front of Diaz and trade, looking for that big curtain closer? Weren’t chins supposed to come into question? Wasn’t Condit supposed to be tailor-made for the high-volume striking assault that Diaz is known for?

Condit had a mute button for the volume. He was either brilliant, or he was a high stakes version of Kalib Starnes, depending on your bias. In all circles, it was clear that he consciously avoided a brawl. And this is where feelings got hurt. In the end, Condit wasn’t about meeting bloodthirsty expectations so much as winning the fight, and he executed his game plan brilliantly. Good for (or shame on) him. Now he’s the interim welterweight champion, and don’t expect apologies from Albuquerque.

Yet for all the scorecard dissection that ensued, nobody was as disappointed or disillusioned as Diaz, who sort of retired right after. A totally impromptu retirement -- just a hundred seconds after a stubborn war he could never incite.

“I don’t need this s---,” he said to Joe Rogan.

He said he’d continue to help train his brother, Nate, but as for him and the whole pack of incompetent judges and all the pressure-filled, bustling hate? Devil take it. He doesn’t need the racket.

Which we all of course took with a grain of salt.

Nobody really thinks that the 28-year-old Diaz is walking. He does need the racket. All the dude has done since his earliest memories is mean mug whoever gets in his grill, and fight. He went so far as to balance out the street menace early by funneling it into jiu-jitsu in his formative years. These days, he is as much Cesar Gracie as Cesar Gracie. Diaz is known for his fiendish work ethic, and he trains compulsively. It’s what he does. It’s how he copes, and how he vents. We like it because we see such focused discipline coming out of unknown wilds. Maybe more than anybody, this game is Diaz’s lifeblood.

Only it’s not a game to Diaz, it’s fighting -- and that’s why judge’s scorecards become absurd to such a literalist.

This last distinction is why he’ll return to the cage before long. The old Dana White proverb to “never leave it in the hands of the judges” will resonate in him and work as kindling. Losing that way won’t sit well in the 209. White senses it, just like you and I. In fact, White was already dangling Josh Koscheck out there as a possible next opponent in the postfight news conference. Emotions got the better of Diaz, who has never filtered the urge to say what’s on his mind like typical professionals.

It helps that there are possibilities all over the place. Realistically, with Georges St. Pierre on the shelf until something like November, a rematch with Condit isn’t out of the question. Neither is fighting a Johny Hendricks or a Jon Fitch or a Rory MacDonald to avenge his brother’s loss. Or maybe Jake Ellenberger, who would love nothing better than to stand and trade heat with Diaz. How about rematch with Diego Sanchez, who knows the buttons to push to get Diaz’s chest puffing back out?

There will be suitors, some of them equipped with the kinds of mouths that will get to Diaz.

But that’s all window dressing. The thing is, Diaz doesn’t have it in him to quit, and there’s still too much left unresolved and just too many reasons for him to walk away.

And for those who have paid attention to Diaz’s competitiveness over the years, the biggest might be this -- he simply can’t.

Paul Daley is convinced there is a "big opportunity" for him to return to the UFC, insisting there are mega-fights just waiting for him in the shape of Nick Diaz, Anthony Johnson, Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. More »

Dana White has one point of contention in matching long-standing champions Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva, and it's this -- a super-fight of that caliber is at odds with a tidy promotion.

White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva want each titlist to clean out their respective divisions and make the showdown inevitable. They want the fight to be completely obvious, to everyone, leaving no doubt that this is the fight that has to be made.

Problem is, that’s impossible. The divisions are filthy with new challenges. It’s an indefinite, super-fight derailing fact. And Jake Ellenberger just proved the point.

Not only did Ellenberger beat a top-five welterweight in Jake Shields, but he did it in 53 possessed seconds. If Shields was worthy to challenge St. Pierre at UFC 129, then surely Ellenberger -- who, counting Shields, has finished four of his last five UFC fights and won them all -- can’t be anything other than a new challenge to that throne. Every cusp fighter who makes a statement against the old guard looks exactly like a challenger. It’s the nature of the rungs. Hungry fighters like Ellenberger will always look imposing, if not necessarily unique.

If St. Pierre gets by Carlos Condit at UFC 137, there’s Nick Diaz (whom he was supposed to face), B.J. Penn (again), Jon Fitch and the one they are saying is cast in GSP's likeness, Rory MacDonald. And of course, there's Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks, Charlie Brenneman and Rick Story. For every foe that he sweeps under the rug, there’s another looking like the GSP antidote right behind him.

In other words, St. Pierre isn’t about to run out of challenges anytime soon.

And, to a lesser extent, neither is Silva. Take a look at the middleweight division, and you can see at least two or three more fights. There’s Chael Sonnen, who came very close to ending Silva’s run at UFC 117 (asterisks in tow), There's Brian Stann, who if he gets by Sonnen deserves the shot. Then there’s Michael Bisping and Mark Munoz, who’ve never had a crack at Silva. Dan Henderson says he’ll cut down to 185 pounds for one reason and one only, and that’s to do battle again with Silva. Granted, Silva is a lot closer to cleaning out his division than GSP, but there’s still a lot of work to be done for a guy who will be 37 years old in the spring.

The UFC has never been overly protective of its champions. The idea is always to book the strapholder against the guy they think can/will beat them. That’s the way it is, and for those who’ve watched boxing over the years; it’s a refreshing way to go about business. And that’s also the problem. There are guys always coming up that have the look and feel of somebody compellingly dangerous for the invulnerable champion.

That’s why the UFC has to decide that enough is enough and that a super-fight between GSP/Silva needs to happen. It’d be an incredibly lucrative fight, a colossal pay-per-view with a massive gate that could sell out a venue like Cowboys Stadium. They know this. Yet the big draw -- that both guys are invincible -- is left at risk the longer GSP and Silva are dangled out there to defend. One day, one or the other will lose.

GSP/Silva is getting down to now or never ... and if it’s a matter of each fighter cleaning out his division, then, unfortunately, it’s headed toward never.

Jon Fitch is where prospects go to get cut down to size. Rory MacDonald is a surprisingly lively welterweight prospect. In a game that has become increasingly nuanced from the skinny jiu-jitsu player versus biker Hun days, this is good enough for a story line.

As of a month ago, Fitch had a to-do list with two names circled on it -- Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn. He was 0-1-1 against those fighters in the past, which plays stubbornly over his sleep at night. Against everyone else he is 21-0 since 2003. This is why he shrugged off Rick Story’s request for a fight after Story dismantled Thiago Alves, and how come he gave Jake Shields the “isn’t that cute” treatment when his name was brought up. Fitch’s problem has become an existential one -- to what purpose do these fights serve to a guy who is already there? And where, exactly, is there?

Yet all of that was before. The new dilemma is that just about every top-tier welterweight has a fight coming up, and now Fitch, who is fully recovered from his shoulder injury, finds himself in limbo. He told NBC Sports’ Ariel Helwani that “everyone I really want to fight is busy, so I’ll fight whoever they tell me right now. I just don’t want to wait to fight.”

The fights that would make sense based on availability boils down to two -- American Kickboxing Academy teammate Josh Koscheck (who has stated he wants to cameo at 185 pounds next), and Rory MacDonald.

You know where Fitch’s druthers tend.

After beating Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle, the 22-year-old MacDonald is being talked about (somewhat incautiously) as the next GSP. Fitch bats guys like that down on the sheer audacity of the claim. In essence, until he gets that title shot again, Fitch is the most disgruntled gatekeeper going. He is tired of being the perennial No. 2, just as he’s tired of not finishing people and tired of people converting his grinding style into verb form. Getting “Fitched” is synonymous with two things. Losing soundly, and losing boringly.

It’s early, but MacDonald seems incapable of a boring fight and fully capable of coaxing Fitch into something more ... entertaining. Besides, if Fitch can’t get to GSP right away, he can take the Canadian understudy and -- yet again -- make a claim for a rematch with the original.

As far as limited options go, this isn’t a bad one.

But there is one more little concession. Fitch has made it known that he would like nothing better than to fight in his hometown of San Jose at UFC 139 on Nov. 19. That would be unlikely if he faces MacDonald, whom the UFC might want to slot in the UFC 140 card in Toronto on Dec. 10, where he is a burgeoning star. Even there, Fitch could treat this as incentive. Beat MacDonald in his native Canada, and the feeling would be to sic Canada’s biggest name on you -- that of GSP.

It’s a very indirect route to get there, but that’s exactly what Fitch wants.

Rory MacDonald made a huge statement at UFC 133, stopping the wily Mike Pyle inside the first round to give momentum to the debate: Is Canada about to produce yet another UFC welterweight champion? More »

Mike Pyle has said over and over again experience will be a factor when he meets 22-year-old Rory MacDonald this weekend at UFC 133.

Maybe. But MacDonald’s got experience, too. Living independently from the age of 16 tends to make you grow up pretty quick.

In 2005, the same year MacDonald started fighting professionally, his father decided to move out of Kelowna, the small town in British Columbia they had lived in for five years.

That was fine for MacDonald, as long as his father knew he wasn’t going with him. He had found a home in the local Toshido Fighting Arts Academy -- one he wasn’t ready to leave.

“My dad had to move away and I stayed to train and live on my own,” MacDonald told ESPN.com. “It wasn’t a hard decision. To me, it was common sense. I was going to stay and train and my dad understood that.

“I knew it would be a lot with finishing high school, trying to train as much as I could and taking care of myself, but that’s what you got to do. It was definitely tough, but I did it.”

For those unfamiliar with the Canadian prospect, MacDonald (11-1) is considered a “new breed” of martial artist. That is, he began training all disciplines at the same time. He’s not a wrestler or a boxer. He’s an MMA fighter.

The development he’s shown this early is remarkable, and it’s only been accelerated by his move to train under Firas Zahabi at Tristar Gym in Montreal last year.

When Pyle was 22, he was, admittedly, training out of a shed in his parents’ backyard, mimicking moves he watched on the screen of his 14’’ television. No shame in that, but it’s far from the looks MacDonald is getting.

“Georges [St. Pierre] and I train everyday. We’re main sparring partners,” MacDonald said. “We’re elite welterweights. What more could you ask for? We’re great partners for each other. I help him the way he helps me.”

Fact remains, Pyle (21-7-1) will walk into the cage Saturday with more than twice as many professional rounds under his belt than MacDonald.

But MacDonald’s not broke on mental advantages in this fight. He’ll carry with him the confidence that everything in his life thus far has led him to believe he was born to do this -- and he’s made all the necessary sacrifices to pursue it.

He’s also spent the last six years beating up older men with more fights.

“Of course, experience is key in fighting. But it isn’t everything,” MacDonald said. “I have youth. I have athleticism. I have technique. It’s about who comes out that night and fights the best. I believe I’m the better fighter.

“I’ve just known from the beginning I had a gift for this.”

In his final ESPN.com blog before his fight with Rory MacDonald Saturday, welterweight Mike Pyle discusses taking the long road to get where he is today, and how it's helped prepare him for Saturday.

As Saturday's fight with Rory MacDonald at UFC 133 (Pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET) fast approaches, I find myself thinking what I was up to at 22 years of age and how the path I have travelled along has molded the man writing this blog today.

If you didn't know by now, my next opponent is 22 and is regarded as one of the best up-and-comers in the entire sport. I am aware of MacDonald's talent and his potential, but I am also aware of the importance of experience.

I can assure you I have plenty of that.

At 22, I was working for a company business and training for “no-holds barred” competition. I guess you could call it mixed martial arts, but it was a completely different sport to what it is now. That shows my age right there.

I was in the backyard of my parents’ house training in a shed and watching fights on a little 14-inch screen television and trying out moves I read about in magazines. I am a completely self-taught fighter and have learned everything I know from the ground up. I didn't have nobody to teach me or show me the way back then.

I had no hype or expectancy. I did it all for myself.

I have worked my way up the hard way and have never looked for a handout. If it wasn't for my own self-belief and determination, this dream would have been crushed many years ago. I didn't have many people looking to hand me a leg-up, that's for sure.

With all that in mind, it's an honor to still be able to fight in the UFC at 35, having been on the journey I've been on, and it is also great to see fighters like MacDonald just breaking through.

Seeing the emergence of guys like Rory tells me this sport is in good place right now. It's healthy, it's growing and it is attracting a lot of the young kids that could go and pursue other big-money sports. This sport will soon be going mainstream and that makes an old guy like me very happy.

I sometimes feel like mixed martial arts world is one big family, but we punch each other in the face now and again. I am the elder statesman and we have young kids like Rory running around. These kids need to be disciplined from time to time, and that's what I plan on doing on Aug. 6.

As much as I respect the kid's talent, nobody is going to tell me that MacDonald will out-tough me this weekend. I have been doing this fighting thing since Rory was in high school and have never taken a step back from anybody. He is a talented young fighter with big dreams and ambitions, but none of that will be enough on Saturday.

You need more than that to beat me at this stage in my career. I am now better than I have ever been, and have both the confidence and experience to back up my skill-set. That makes me a dangerous man in the welterweight division and a nightmare for anybody looking to make waves in this sport by using me as a stepping stone.

Despite this clear threat, I expect Rory to come out there bring it hard from the off. He's young, reckless and brave, and that's all going to play right into my hands. I'll let him come at me as the young and aggressive fighter that he is and he'll then fall into all the traps that "Quicksand" lays for him. I'll tuck him him in nice and tight and then read him a bedtime story …

Follow Mike Pyle on Twitter @Mike_Pyle and be sure to check out his UFC 133 fight Saturday on pay-per-view (9 p.m. ET)

In this ESPN.com blog, welterweight Mike Pyle discusses training, his upcoming UFC 133 bout with Rory MacDonald and why he has a knack for upending up-and-comers.

I never view myself as an underdog going into any fight. Even if the odds have me as an underdog, I can't let that play on my mind. It means nothing. Being an underdog or favorite isn't going to make me fight any better or worse. You've got to forget all that and just focus on the task ahead. I know how good I am and how good my opponent is, and I can guarantee that I know more about this sport than the guys who determine underdogs and favorites.

So, it comes as no surprise to learn that a lot of people are backing this kid Rory MacDonald to defeat me on Aug. 6 at UFC 133. I'm sorry, but I'm not letting a kid who still gets ID’d stand in my way of getting a welterweight title shot. A lot of these kids get a lot of hype built around them and they receive a lot of praise through potential rather than any real achievement. John Hathaway was the same, just before I beat him at UFC 120 in October. John was a very talented fighter who had just beaten Diego Sanchez, and many people expected him to just walk right through me in his hometown of London. It never happened. Instead, I went out there and dominated him for three rounds. The crowd went silent as a library and John lost his unbeaten record.

People acted surprised by what happened, but let's look at the facts for a moment. As talented as he may have been, John had never beaten a welterweight in my league up to that point. I was a better fighter than John at that stage and was also far more experienced and those experiences made me tough.

When Hathaway tried grabbing a hold of me in the first round, the kid grabbed on to a grown man and ended up getting his ass whooped. He finally knew what he was getting into as soon as he felt my man strength in that first minute. Suddenly he wasn't messing about in the paddling pool no more.

I knew right off the bat that I had Hathaway's number, and nobody could tell me otherwise. I don't give a damn if he was favorite or the best thing since King Kong. I have eyes -- and I know mixed martial arts. I watched his videos, I studied his style, and I knew it would be a straightforward win for me. Nobody believed me at the time, but I knew I was right.

Hathaway and MacDonald are two completely different fighters with completely different styles, but their prefight hype is similar. Both are highly thought of and both bring lots of attention with them. That's great for me, though, as everybody will expecting big things from Rory, only for me to then walk in and upset the applecart, just like I did with John in London. These guys are doing the hard work for me.

The UFC like to build stars and they like to invest a lot of time and effort in these young kids coming through. It makes sense and I get it. What I don't understand, though, is why anybody would think the likes of Hathaway or MacDonald can use ME as a stepping stone to the next level. That will never happen in a million years. I am not the guy you want to face if you're carrying that kind of hype and expectancy with you.

Let's be honest, I was winning fights when Hathaway and MacDonald were rushing home from junior high to play with their Pokemon.

I've put in the work, the time and the blood, sweat and tears, and yet these kids think they can come into my office and beat me at my own game. It isn't ever going to happen. While these young fighters were leaving school and wondering what they wanted to do with their lives, I was already fighting in rings and cages up and down the country. They were thinking about doing it, and I was out there busting my ass and actually doing it. I've paved the way for these kids.

Regardless of age, I feel that I'm a much better fighter than MacDonald right now, and I'll prove that on the night. MacDonald will be in there with a bigger, stronger and more experienced fighter and he won't know what to do. I'm going to break him …

In this ESPN.com blog, welterweight Mike Pyle discusses training, his upcoming UFC 133 bout with Rory MacDonald and why he has a knack for upending up-and-comers.

Everything is going just fine in camp right now and I'm right on schedule with where I want to be. You never like to take things for granted at any stage of camp, but it's fair to say I'm very happy with my progress at this moment in time. As I write this first blog, I feel like an unstoppable machine.

I've been doing martial arts for more than half my life now and training and competing are two things I am almost programmed to do. I don't know what I would do with my days if I didn't have to train. Fighting is what I do, and it's the reason I get up in the morning. I've never been happier to be a fighter than I am now at 35 years of age.

You simply don't have to motivate a guy like me. I don't need motivation to train and I don't need motivation to fight. I'd be doing this thing even if there wasn't a great outlet like the UFC to do it in. Fighting is in my DNA.

I've been training for this fight against Rory MacDonald at UFC 133 pretty much since my last win over Ricardo Almeida back in March. I took a little time off after that victory to go fishing, but, as soon as I got back on dry land, I was in the gym and raring to go. I ticked over for a few weeks, kept in good shape, and then got this great opportunity and against MacDonald.

Looking back at my last performance, I would have loved to have gotten a finish against Almeida. There were a couple of times when I nailed him with good shots and probably should have knocked him out. All credit to him, though -- he showed some toughness and spirit in there. Overall, I went in and did the job I needed to do against a guy like Ricardo. I executed the game plan we had worked on in training and did so with minimum fuss. Whenever you dominate a fight the way I did, you've got to be happy with things.

I believe I am at the peak of my career right now. I have never felt better physically and have never been stronger mentally. There are a lot of other guys my age that were great in the past but are now struggling to find their past form in 2011. It's starting to trickle away from them and years of hard grind are catching up a bit.

Thankfully, I am not experiencing any of that and am, in fact, going through the reverse. I am only entering my prime now, at 35 years of age. I'm still figuring out how to be the best fighter I can be, whereas a lot of the guys my age have already been there and done that and are now coming back down the other side mountain. It's a nice position to be in.

I believe the reason I am now enjoying my best years is simply because I am being forced to get better on a daily basis. The challenges that the UFC present you with are so substantial that you must move with the times or else you will get left behind. I know I need to work harder and become better than I was 10 years ago, otherwise I'll be kicked out of the best organization in the world. In many ways, the UFC have made me the best fighter I can be.

In order to survive and compete, we must grow stronger as individuals, and that is what I am trying to do, even now at this advanced stage of my career. Unlike a lot of my legendary peers, I am still trying to make my way in this sport and am still aspiring to achieve my goals. I am not yet content with where my career has taken me. I still have plenty left to achieve and still have sights on that UFC welterweight title. I'm not doing this thing to get on television. I want to fight Georges St. Pierre, I want to become world champion and I won't let some 21-year-old kid named Rory MacDonald stand in my way of doing both …

Follow Mike Pyle on Twitter @Mike_Pyle.