Just a couple hours after Kajan Johnson makes his UFC debut his fellow Tristar training partner and welterweight contender Rory MacDonald will step inside the Octagon against Tyron Woodley in the UFC 174 co-main event.
Even though MacDonald is ranked at #2 at 170-pounds, many fans are picking the underdog Woodley to win. “Ragin” thinks those people that are sleeping on who he calls ‘Mac’ are bound to get woken up.
“I think that Mac is going to shock the world,” said Johnson. “If they’re sleeping, they’re about to wake up. He’s so on point right now; his style changes so much.”
At 24-years-old MacDonald is still a student of the sport and learning. However, unlike others in the mixed martial arts game, he takes things in and absorbs them like a sponge.
“That’s what people don’t understand, he learns at such a high pace,” Johnson told MMASucka.com. “Most people, it takes them a long time to grasp a technique and really work it into their game – well he’s not like that at all. He’s completely the opposite, I learn really quick, when I see something I can pretty much do it and he’s better than me in that way. He can do it where he’ll keep that technique, but I’ll be able to do it on the spot and I’ll lose it after a minute. He’s amazing like that, so I think he’s just got way too much variety for Tyron Woodley.”
As Johnson said, he believes MacDonald has way too much variety for Woodley. He feels that the Montreal based fighter will be able to finish “T-Wood” at almost any place possible.
“Woodley has a good low kick, he’s got a good right hand, he’s got a good double leg – Rory MacDonald has so much more than that. I could see him finishing him with a leg lock, I could see him smashing him with ground and pound, I could see him stopping him with the right hand or head kick.”
In MacDonald’s last bout he used an air-tight game-plan to earn the unanimous decision against Demian Maia. He adjusted his skill set after losing his first fight since 2011 when Robbie Lawler took home the split decision at UFC 167 last November. Johnson says you will not see that fighter in the Octagon against Woodley, you will see someone who will look to attack.
“He’s going to stomp on this dude. It’s going to be a scrap, don’t get me wrong, but Mac’s ready to scrap now. It’s not the Mac that you saw a while ago when he was fighting [Robbie] Lawler, it’s not that guy. This is different Mac – Mac’s back and he’s about to attack.”
