MacDonald wants one more in '08

Jason MacDonald had a dominating performance over Jason Lambert at UFC 88 last Saturday night. He worked some effective ground and pound in the opening round before securing a fight ending "Submission of the Night" rear naked choke in the second. This was a big win following his exciting, but losing effort to Demian Maia the month before.

"The Athlete" likes to stay busy in his fighting career. He's looking to get in another fight before the year is out. There are still at least five events left this year in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and MacDonald is focused on getting one of them.

"I'm absolutely, completely focused on trying to get one more fight before the end of the year," commented MacDonald in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. "That decision isn't in my hands, but I walked away from this fight unscathed. I would love for the opportunity to get back in there and get one more fight under my belt before the end of the year."

In 2006, MacDonald had an impressive seven fights in the same calendar year, going 6-1 in that stretch. It's natural to think that fighting more often makes him more confident. "Some of the best years I've had in fighting is when I fought five or six times."

The question really is whom the UFC would match him up with. There are quite a few potential opponents suitable for MacDonald, although he will leave it in the UFC's hands.

"At the end of the day, it's whoever the UFC wants me to fight," he said. "Nate Marquardt had a brilliant performance the other night and it looks like him and Dan Henderson may be on a crash course to fighting each other. You have [Patrick] Cote and [Anderson] Silva matched up against each other. I don't know what's really out there right now, but I know Thales Leites is kicking around out there. I'm not sure if he has an opponent slated."

The big fight that may appeal to a lot of fans is a potential match up with England's Michael "The Count" Bisping, who is headlining UFC 89 against an opponent that MacDonald has already defeated, Chris Leben. "I'd be interested to see the Bisping-Leben fight. Of course I already fought Leben. I'd love the opportunity to step up and take on Michael Bisping. He's getting a lot of hype in the middleweight division these days. Anyone that fights with the guys in the top half of this division that can continue to move my career forward."

Of course, MacDonald's ultimate goal is to get a shot at the UFC middleweight championship belt. "I want a crack," he exclaimed. "I want to get myself in a position to fight for the title. Hopefully, I can put on a decent run here and take on some good opponents to get myself a title shot."