The 5 best UFC fighters from Canada

#2 Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald holds a win over current UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley

Now plying his trade in Bellator MMA, when he emerged onto the UFC scene in 2010 at the age of just 20, many observers expected Welterweight Rory MacDonald to go on to great things in the Octagon and for the most part, they were right. He’d already been fighting professionally for five years – since he turned 16 – prior to his UFC debut, and his early UFC outings were fantastic. Wins over Mike Guymon, Nate Diaz, Mike Pyle and Che Mills were only offset by a tight loss to future champion Carlos Condit.

2012 was Rory’s real breakthrough year, as he brutally beat down the legendary BJ Penn, sending him into temporary retirement. A dull win over Jake Ellenberger followed, before a close loss to Robbie Lawler knocked him out of title contention. MacDonald recovered with three straight wins – including one over Tyron Woodley – to earn a title shot and a rematch with Lawler, who’d gone on to win the belt.

Rory’s title fight with Lawler remains one of the greatest in UFC history; the two men went to war for five rounds before Lawler stopped MacDonald by shattering his nose in the fifth round. A year on the shelf followed before a disappointing loss to Stephen Thompson ended ‘The Red King’s UFC run. But he remains one of the best 170lbers on the planet despite being in Bellator now, and his huge wins – Penn, Diaz, Maia, Woodley, Ellenberger – definitely earn him this spot.