Jason MacDonald is the very definition of the catchphrase "hometown hero."

In the early days of the Maximum Fighting Championship, "The Athlete" was
one of the main attractions on fight cards. His popularity grew at an
incredible rate. MacDonald became the star - legions of fans turned out for
every show and those loyal followers helped the MFC get credited with having
the marketplace's "sexiest crowd in sports."

And now MacDonald has returned to the MFC, more popular than ever before
and with his eye on a prize that eluded him during his previous tenure with
the organization. Speaking on the day of his 34 birthday, MacDonald wanted
only one gift and it is one that he can wrap up for himself.


"My goal is to win the MFC middleweight title," declared MacDonald, who
sports a 21-12 record. "The first time around I lost a five-round war with
Patrick Cote and now I've got the opportunity to chase that dream one more
time."


For MacDonald, claiming the prestigious MFC belt will be all the better if
and when he can do it in front of the fans who were there from the start of
his stellar mixed martial arts career.


"The first half of my career was in the MFC and I always had the opportunity
to fight in front of lots of friends and family. I'm excited to be able to
do it again because that always meant a lot to me."


MacDonald will make his official return at MFC 22: Payoff on Sept. 25 at the
River Cree Resort and Casino. Just who he'll be squaring off against is
still being determined but there are a number of candidates out there who
have piqued MacDonald's interest.


"The one guy who impressed me the most was Bryan Baker," said MacDonald, who
got a ringside view of Baker's first-round TKO win over Rory Singer (a
former MacDonald foe) at MFC 20. "He comes to fight and I want to fight
someone who wants to throw down, someone who's going to fight and give us
both an opportunity to put on an exciting fight for the fans.


"I think a best-case scenario would be to fight Trevor Prangley but since he
just won the title at 205 he'll probably want to defend that a couple of
times though it's something to look at. I wouldn't mind avenging my loss to
Marvin Eastman because I wasn't really at the best point in my career back
then (2005) but I think he's more comfortable at 205 now.


"Travis Galbraith is coming down to 185 and that would be exciting. Solomon
Hutcherson . anybody really. I just want to fight in a great fight, get the
biggest challenge against the biggest name guy available."


Though nicknamed "The Athlete" for his Terminator-like overall conditioning,
MacDonald also picked up the handle "TUF Killer" in recent times because of
his penchant for destroying reality show graduates. He tapped out Ed Herman
with one of the most vicious triangle chokes that included a barrage of
elbow strikes. He then left Chris Leben a quivering mess with a uniquely
dangerous modified guillotine choke. MacDonald made it a hat trick of
victories over "TUF" opponents with a ground-and-pound demolition of Rory
Singer. MacDonald wouldn't mind facing down another "TUF" foe if the
opportunity arises especially after falling victim to "TUF" slugger Nate
Quarry in his last bout.


"There are still some alumni kicking around that I could fight," noted
MacDonald. "I think Edwin Dewees would be great fight. Shonie Carter? At
this point in his career I think Shonie is a bit of a joke and I'm not sure
that a fight with him would be worth it. I'm looking for quality fights and
fights that will get me to the title."


MacDonald views his return to the MFC as a second-chance opportunity, not
just for the chance to win the coveted title belt but also for the glory of
personal redemption. He's been down a rocky road before - a four-fight slump
in 2004-2005 that forced a complete re-evaluation of his career. The
re-assessment has already started this time around.


"In my mind, the two situations are very similar," explained MacDonald. "The
first time, I'd lost my focus, I was in a lull and was not having any
success, and I had to get back on track and get re-focused.


"This time, I found myself with a lot of popularity but I got side-tracked
by a lot of other things - opening my own gym, staring my own fight
promotion, managing fighters. I was in the gym every day training but I
wasn't solely focused on my own fighting. I lost focus on what I want and
that's to be a great fighter. You don't realize how bad you still want
something until it's gone.

"An athlete's career is always full of ups and downs. I've been down before
and I've managed to rebuild myself and I've gone on to have some great ups."

The true "Athlete" is back and he can taste it.


"I'm hungry again. I'm going to do everything in my power to get back on
track. I am re-focused. I'm not going to fight for a long time, probably
another two years and hopefully I'll get to 50 fights, but most importantly
I want to finish on a positive note.


"There's nothing greater than being on top of your game. I want to perform
well and have fights that I'm proud of like the fights I had against Demian
Maia and Jason Lambert. Most importantly I want to fight well. That's the
No. 1 priority."

Jason will be making his long awaited return to the MFC on September 25,
2009 at The River Cree Resort & Casino www.ticketmaster.ca 780.451.8000
MFC Ticket Hotline 780. 504.2024 www.maximumfighting.com Don't delay 14
straight Sell Outs.