Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald 2 is widely considered one of the, if not the best MMA fight of all time. The first two rounds started slow but the last three will never be removed from MMA history.
Lawler's intense stare before the fifth, followed by him securing the finish, is as iconic as it gets. His post-fight interview with the torn lip was like the cherry on top, making the UFC 189 co-main event one of the most memorable fights of all time.
John McCarthy had the privilege of witnessing this action more closely than anyone else in the world as the referee. However, he's now revealed a shocking concern as the welterweights continued damaging each other for five rounds...
"Big" John McCarthy Explains Rory MacDonald's Life-Threatening Condition When Fighting Robbie Lawler At UFC 189
McCarthy recently appeared on Tim Welch's YouTube channel for an episode of Red Hawk Recap. When asked about the hardest fight to ref, he remembered a random heavyweight bout involving an intentional groin shot.
However, the conversation turned serious when McCarthy expressed his concerns about MacDonald aspirating blood during his fight against Robbie Lawler at UFC 189. Due to the severe nose blockage, "The Red King" couldn't breathe properly and his blood was sticking to his lungs which could've been fatal if not diagnosed properly.
I had that with Rory MacDonald with Robbie Lawler. And a lot of people look at that fight, they love the fight. It was an incredible fight, but if you look at it, Rory is dying! During parts of that fight, based upon he's aspirating blood. which means he's starting to have the blood stick into his lungs. He's not swallowing it, he's breathing it in and now it's taking his lungs' ability to dissipate the oxygen.
"Big" further explained his dilemma as MacDonald would always be off to a good start after the one-minute rest between rounds. He would then be fatigued for obvious reasons towards the end of these rounds but because this was a title fight, the veteran referee couldn't make up his mind about stopping it.
He would come out every round, just like they normally do and he would do well based upon he now has oxygen. He's had that minute rest, now that he gets a little tired, now he's starting to suck air because he can't breathe through his nose. And he's starting to breathe through his mouth and now he's starting to fall off the cliff. But now it gets to the end of the round, all right, he's made it. Let's try to see if we can go to the next one. But those are the ones to me that are scary.
McCarthy shockingly revealed that during the fight, he was worried about entering the club of referees who've had fatal incidents occur inside the ring while they're refereeing.
Luckily, the inhuman brawl against Lawler didn't affect MacDonald in the ways that McCarthy feared. He competed for seven more years and even won a championship in Bellator.
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