PFL’s David Michaud says heart condition has him out of Rory MacDonald fight – and likely into retirement
David Michaud was getting ready for what likely was going to be the biggest fight of his career. Now it appears his career might be over.
Michaud (18-6) was set to fight former Bellator champion Rory MacDonald (21-6-1) on April 29 in the main event of the PFL’s second show of the year as part of the start of welterweight regular season. But Thursday, Michaud posted on Twitter that a heart condition recently discovered has taken him out of the fight.
But not only that, the 32-year-old said the condition is likely to mean the end of his fighting career.
“So this is gonna be a tough post. After multiple tests on my heart including a Cardiac MRI and talking with multiple Cardiologists, I have been informed that I got a bad ticker,” Michaud posted on Twitter. “I have a Congenital bicuspid aortic valve with dilated aortic root. Unfortunately I was born with this
“because of the dilation of the aorta, fighting puts me at risk for an aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta. That would be fatal under almost all circumstances. For this reason I will not be able to fight Rory Macdonald on April 29th, and unless anything changes, ever again.”
because of the dilation of the aorta, fighting puts me at risk for an aortic dissection — a tear in the aorta. That would be fatal under almost all circumstances. For this reason I will not be able to fight Rory Macdonald on April 29th, and unless anything changes, ever again.
— David Michaud (@bulldawg_170) April 8, 2021
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Michaud, from South Dakota, reached the 2019 PFL welterweight playoff final, but was stopped with a second-round TKO by $1 million winner Ray Cooper III. To reach that final, he won decisions against fellow UFC veterans John Howard and Glaico Franca on the same night in October 2019.
If it indeed is the end of the line for Michaud, he’ll exit the sport with 18 career wins, including 14 stoppages.
He turned pro in 2009, and by 2012 he was on Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” And while things didn’t work out for him on the show, he built back up and was in the UFC by 2014. He went 2-2 in the promotion, then found himself trying to work his way back to the big leagues with fights for RFA, Titan FC, LFA and Bellator before signing with PFL for the 2019 inaugural season.
PFL officials have not yet made a formal announcement about Michaud’s withdrawal, or who will step in to fight MacDonald in the welterweight main event.
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