I'm a somewhat patriotic Canadian. I like the fact that when I inevitably have a heart attack from a lazy life of blogging and stuffing my face with cupcakes and pepsi, medicare will take care of me. So that's pretty sweet. But as far as being extra proud of our Canadian crop of fighters ... well, I like who we got, but aside from GSP we don't have a lot of top dogs.
One fighter who may turn out to be a contender (and that's all I really ask for) is Rory MacDonald. At 22 years of age he already came 7 seconds away from beating Carlos Condit and made Nate Diaz look like a bitch in his last outing. The sky's the limit if he gets some good trainers and mentors, and it doesn't get much better in the mentor department than GSP. From Rory's SportsNet blog:
The [Tristar] gym is now my full-time home and I have a second family there. When I first moved down here, Georges St-Pierre was one of the most helpful guys and was always looking to make the transition easier for me. I didn't have a car at the time, and Georges went out of his way to pick me up every day for training.
I went to all his training sessions with him and watched and studied the way he went about work. I'd then pick his brain on the journey to and from the gym. I followed him everywhere for a good few months and really got a priceless insight into how a great champion trains and lives.
You pick up so much experience from just talking to guys like Georges. He would talk to me about how he prepares, how he deals with nerves and everything else in between. No question went unanswered and it was a huge benefit for me.
Georges is like no other training partner. He is not only very accommodating and personable, but he also happens to be the best fighter on the planet. You couldn't ask for a better guy to show you the ropes. He's an amazing person and one of my best friends.
We'll see if Rory can use that friendship and influence to beat Mike Pyle at UFC 133. He not only has to face Pyle, but the BEST Mike Pyle there's ever been. Once having a reputation as a guy who's a God in the gym but mortal in the cage, Mike's on a three fight winning streak and has said in interviews there's no way Rory will be able to handle his rugged man-strength. Whatever the outcome, it's going to be a killer fight. And hopefully afterwards Canada will have another fighter we can tout as being one of the best.
Source: http://www.fightlinker.com/rory-macdonald-is-the-next-great-canadian-hope
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