Almost immediately in the first round, MacDonald shot in quickly but got nowhere, and Belcher pushed him against the fence. MacDonald reversed against the cage though and was working hard for the takedown. Belcher fell on top of him though. Belcher started swarming him with punches from full guard, most of which connected. He strafed him with an elbow which had MacDonald hurt, but J-Mac looked for a kimura to momentarily escape danger. Belcher shucks it off though and looks for a crucifix. He stood up and is is reigning down shots, and MacDonald was very hurt. More elbows and big shots and the referee was forced to jump in. It was an extremely impressive performance from Belcher.
Belcher was making his return after being out for 16 months with a serious eye injury. MacDonald was coming off a quick submission win over Ryan Jensen at UFC 129 and was looking to build on the victory to extend his third tenure in the UFC.
SBN coverage of UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellenberger