MacDonald gets own figurine

Round 5 and Pavelich Sports Entertainment on Thursday announced that Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald will become the first Canadian to create a figurine in his likeness through Round 5, the Ontario-based company which has become a leader in mixed martial arts collectibles. MacDonald, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, will now join an exclusive group of MMA stars who have collaborated with Round 5 to produce some of the most detailed and unique MMA action figures in the world.

"Since we are based in Ontario, I am particularly excited that Jason MacDonald is the first Canadian to sign with Round 5," said Damon Lau, Round 5 president and co-founder. "He is one of the most successful and popular MMA stars in the country and enjoys a strong following across North America."

MacDonald's figurine is expected to be released as part of a Round 5 series later this year. To date, two Series have been issued: Randy Couture, MattHughes, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Tito Ortiz comprised Series 1 while Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva were released in Series 2. Series 3, featuring Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski, "Big John" McCarthy, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, is scheduled to be available at retail and at www.Round5MMA.com within the next three to four weeks.

MacDonald began his career with a series of dominating performances in Canada's largest MMA organization, the Maximum Fighting Championship. He then burst onto the international stage with an impressive triangle choke victory over Ed Herman at the UFC's Ultimate Fight Night 7 in October of 2006.

Now sporting a 21-11 record (5-4 in the UFC), MacDonald is set to take on The Ultimate Fighter alumnus and UFC middleweight contender Nate Quarry at UFC 97 in Montreal, Quebec, on Saturday.

As in the earlier series, MacDonald will maintain creative control of his likeness, including the pose, facial design and shorts. He will be instrumental in creating the final design and will benefit from a royalty agreement that gives him a considerable portion of the sale of his figurines.

Round 5 plans to release three additional series of athletes in 2009, one during each quarter. In addition to those noted above, Fedor Emelianenko and Gina "Conviction" Carano have also partnered with Round 5 for figurines scheduled for 2009 release.