Rory MacDonald: MMA 'Purist' Wants Headbutts, No Time Limit in UFC

Give Rory MacDonald a “Just Bleed” t-shirt, a cold beer and enough mayhem to fill a late-'80s Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

The top UFC welterweight contender isn’t hip to all of the rules and regulations of modern-day MMA. If it were up to him, there would be headbutts, no time limit and kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent.

It would be just like the good ol’ days, as MacDonald told The Fight Network:

"

I’d like that. It doesn’t play into fan-friendly things because guys get tired and it can drag on. You’ve seen that in the older UFCs with those rules. But yeah, I’m a purist kind of guy. I like knees to the head on the ground, kicks to the head on the ground, headbutts. I think those are all really good tools for human body weapons. I think those are important.

"

It’s a gimme that a cold-blooded fighting machine like MacDonald would fancy the caveman days. Long before Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta, the main UFC marketing ploy was that it had no rules.

It was the real-life reincarnation of Bloodsport. There was no Frank Dux or Chong Li, but there was Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock. It was void of any judging or weight classes. There were no rounds or time limits. Fights continued until they were finished. The rules only restricted biting and eye gouging.

It wasn’t uncommon to see fighters grab hair and smash groins. Former UFC heavyweight champ Mark Coleman, the long-lost Bushwhacker, dominated opponents with headbutts in the guard. It was fighting at its purest, and perhaps most unacceptable, level. No sponsorships or pristine television network deals were ever going to come out of such brutality.

So the UFC did away with the headbutts, groin shots, hair pulling and kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent. They also installed weight classes, rounds and a time limit.

While few fighters have echoed MacDonald’s lust for headbutts, several have agreed MMA could do without time limits. Former UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, MacDonald’s mentor, claimed the concept of rounds in MMA was “stupid” during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Top featherweight contender Conor McGregor harbors the same feelings toward time limits and rounds in MMA, per MMAWeekly's Jeff Cain.

“People say, ‘we want a finish.’ Trust me, someone will break. No time, a man will break,” said McGregor.

Keep in mind, the UFC averages around 12 fights per event. There could be some serious snoozing if every fight drags out.

On the other hand, there would always be finishes.

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.