UFC 189: 'Purist' Rory MacDonald wants to reinstate headbutts, soccer kicks

The godson of ground and pound?

We could all use a little bit more time.

Just ask Rory MacDonald, who would've loved to have 10 more minutes against Robbie Lawler at UFC 167 back in 2013. That's because after 15 minutes of action, "Red King" lost a split decision to "Ruthless." And had there been just a few more rounds, perhaps the outcome would've been different.

He'll have that luxury when he faces off against Robbie for the second time at UFC 189 on July 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. That's because this time around, Lawler is the welterweight champion, which means their title fight is scheduled for five rounds.

Music to Rory's ears, as he recently told The Fight Network (via MMA Fighting), because he enjoys longer fights; especially when taking on the cream of the crop.

"I always enjoy longer fights. I don't like going to decision. Fighting guys this high level, you need more than 15 minutes. I always appreciate staying in the cage a big longer. That's going to be a lot nicer."

In fact, if MacDonald was in charge and had the chance to change some regulations, he'd revert back to the dark days of the sport when there were no time limits and less rules.

"It doesn't play into fan-friendly things because guys get tired and it can drag on. You've seen that in the older UFC's with those rules. But yeah, I'm a purist kind of guy. I like knees to the head on the ground, kicks to the head on the ground, headbutts. I think those are all really good tools for human body weapons. I think those are important. It changes the positions completely. We saw [former UFC heavyweight champion] Mark Coleman in the early days dominate with headbutts from the guard. It would change the guard position. Four points would change because of knees to the head on the ground. Standing over your opponent would change with kicks to the head on the ground. The whole concept, the positions that people are used to seeing in the UFC would change drastically if those were the rules."

PRIDE never die? Or long live ONE Championship?

Of course, if those rules were resurrected, then UFC and MMA as a sport would likely fall out of favor with the public and they too, would revert to the dark ages, as far as success and recognition is concerned.

So, that means Rory will have to compromise and do without headbutts and knees to a downed opponent in exchange for getting a potential 10 extra minutes of fight time with "Ruthless" when they collide this summer.

Question is, will the extra time help or hurt the Canadian?