A very tentative first round from 'Chopper' saw him staying at range and being very conservative in his output. McDonald did much more, constantly working his southpaw jab and throwing a wide range of kicks. His jumping efforts were more optimistic than effective but his left body kick was a money shot, landing on 'Chopper's right side again and again with a sound like a rifle crack.
'Chopper' fans started to worry that he wasn't mentally in the fight. Before the event started there had been some problems backstage when it transpired that 'Chopper''s hands did not fit in the standard gloves. He was forced to use an older version of the GLORY competition glove, which had been retired after fighters had asked for a glove with less padding. Had that thrown him off his game?
It had not. Well, not completely. With McDonald being a late switch of opponent 'Chopper' had always planned to let him burn some of what would undoubtedly be a limited gas tank, softening him up before getting his own offense going. But with the last-minute switch of gloves, he found himself being even more cautious than he had intended to.
Still, McDonald played his part. He was going for gold throughout the first round, clearly relishing the opportunity to show off a little, and that did cost him. In the second round he slowed noticeably, his punches losing their snap and turning into pushes. That was the cue for 'Chopper' to get busy and he did, working big knees to McDonald's soft midsection and attacking the already depleted gas tank.
With just under a minute remaining, 'Chopper' latched on a clinch and battered McDonald with knees to the head and body. McDonald folded over and took a knee, prompting a count from the referee. He took a long time getting back to his feet but beat the count and reentered the fray. Twenty seconds later he was on the canvas again thanks to another knee barrage and took another count.
The bell sounded to end the round when McDonald beat the count, so it looked like the fight would make it to round three. But McDonald was hurt. His corner called the doctor in and after a brief examination she advised him to withdraw from the fight, making 'Chopper' the winner by way of TKO and sending him to 4-1 in GLORY with all four wins inside the distance.
Afterwards he took the mic and in his usual cocky fashion sent a message to the champion. “My b--ch Rico Verhoeven, I know you don't respect me, you're backstage listening right now,” he said, before breaking into a rap verse. “I ain't shook, and I've got this right hook. When it comes out, big motherf--kers like you go down.”
