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Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:02 am
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 After a career spanning more than 40 fights, UFC veteran Jason MacDonald is hanging up his gloves.
"The Athlete" on Thursday told Sportsnet in Canada that he was retiring from the sport. MacDonald (25-16 MMA, 6-8 UFC) leaves MMA as one of the most successful fighters to come out of Canada.
MacDonald last fought this past May, suffering a first-round knockout loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC on FUEL TV 3. Prior to that, he was submitted by Alan Belcher in the first round at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans.
But of note in his second stint with the UFC was his first-round triangle-choke submission of Ryan Jensen at UFC 129 in Toronto. That win came after an absence of nearly a year following a broken leg against John Salter at UFC 113 in Montreal.
MacDonald started his career 10-1 before a four-fight skid to former and future UFC fighters Matt Horwich, Jason Brilz, Marvin Eastman and Shonie Carter. His next two losses also came at the hands of future UFC fighters Kalib Starnes and Patrick Cote.
But a four-fight win streak in 2006 got him a call from the UFC, and he submitted Ed Herman with a first-round triangle to win "Submission of the Night." He followed that up with another bonus for a guillotine choke stoppage of Chris Leben.
Overall, MacDonald went 5-5 in his first stint with the promotion, exiting with losses to Demian Maia, Wilson Gouveia and Nate Quarry as part of three setbacks in four outings. But in 2009-2010, he won three straight to get a late-notice call to fight Salter, and would close out his career in the UFC.
"I've had a great MMA career," MacDonald told MMA Fighting. "I have traveled, met great people and have done things I would have never dreamed of through MMA. It's been an honor to be with the UFC over the years, but it's now time to move on. I'm getting older, my four kids are growing up fast. I'm going to focus on my family and my CrossFit gym."
MacDonald said he would return to the cage after his loss to Lawlor this past May, and the UFC's Canadian office even took to Twitter after that loss to assure fans "The Athlete" was not going to retire. But that didn't turn out to be the case.
Of MacDonald's 41 career fights, he fought 29 times in his home country of Canada – including four times under the UFC banner. In his 14 fights with the company, he took home four bonus awards – three for "Submission of the Night" and one for best knockout. Of his 25 wins, he ends his career with an impressive 88 percent finishing percentage with 19 submissions and three knockouts.Source: MMAJunkie.com
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