Swift, clinical and brutal: three words that could be used to describe Rory MacDonald’s victory over Che Mills at UFC 145 last night. The victory sets the Canadian’s professional MMA record at 13-1 and already at 22, he looks every bit a champion in the making.

MacDonald hadn’t fought since his TKO victory over Mike Pyle in August last year, but he showed no sign of ring rust, as he took the Englishman Mills out in the second round.

Mills looked decidedly out of his depth as MacDonald brought him down at will and mauled him for almost two rounds.

And MacDonald needed to win decisively. Any less of a performance against a relatively average talent would leave question marks over this much-hyped prospect. Those question marks were put to rest as MacDonald’s performance clearly shows him as an elite-level fighter.

In many ways, MacDonald represents the new generation of MMA fighters: a complete talent whose skills in striking and grappling all converged at the same time. His career victories span two weight divisions and if it was not for a late third-round rally from Carlos Condit in his fight against MacDonald, the Canadian could already be staring down a championship fight.

Instead, the loss and then an injury put a stutter on his unassailable rise to the top.

Of course, MacDonald would never fight his teammate and mentor George St-Pierre and he still needs to prove himself against a top welterweight contender such as a Josh Koscheck or a Jake Shields. And in the lightweight division, too, it is still uncertain how he’d fare against the likes of Ben Henderson or Frankie Edgar.

But give him a year and a top-five contender in any weight class and Rory MacDonald will prove himself a UFC champion.

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