Rory MacDonald Wanted Carlos Condit but Settled for B.J. Penn

Rory MacDonald never really wanted a fight with B.J. Penn. He got one, of course, but the fighter he actually wanted to face was Carlos Condit.

MacDonald made the confession on MMAjunkie Radio today when asked about who he actually wanted to fight:

"Carlos Condit," MacDonald told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "But he's busy right now. He's got a fight coming up, so I have to work my way up to that level (with someone else)."

That's understandable, isn't it? Condit handed MacDonald his only career loss back at UFC 115, in a fight that, until the waning moments of the final round, MacDonald was handily dominating. And when I say "waning moments of the fight," I mean right up until the last 10 seconds or so of the final round. It's understandable that MacDonald would want to roll that one back and go for revenge.

And then there's the fact that Condit is the interim welterweight champion. MacDonald wants to compete for a title, and Condit makes perfect sense, mostly because MacDonald isn't going to fight the true champion because he's a teammate.

Of course, MacDonald versus Condit doesn't make a ton of sense form the UFC's perspective. What happens if MacDonald beats Condit? He becomes the new welterweight champion, but won't participate in a unification bout with St-Pierre. That leaves the UFC with two welterweight champions and roughly zero chance of them squaring off to unify the belts.

The welterweight division has gotten very interesting over the past few months.

Johny Hendricks and Martin Kampmann are both on the verge of contendership, and they'll meet this fall to determine who faces the winner of the November bout between Condit and St-Pierre. MacDonald, with another win, would have to be considered for a title shot, and you'll have Nick Diaz hovering around once he comes back from his year-long suspension.

It'll be interesting to see how all of this shakes out.