of difficulty with the Hawaiian.

"I definitely think I've passed him by," MacDonald said. "I don't know about the rest of the sport or the division, but we'll find out on Saturday. He's good still. I don't think he's lost it completely. He's not old. But I don't think he's put the time in the gym to excel and improve his technique. If he stayed in the gym, maybe he'd be better than he is today."

If he beats Penn, MacDonald would be in a race to be the No. 1 contender in the division along with Johny Hendricks, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz.

He's come an amazing distance in a short time. Only five years ago, he was questioning himself and considering leaving the sport.

"I had distractions in my lifeI wanted."

He opted to fight, which proved to be a wise decision. He became the youngest man in the UFC in 2010 when he signed at 20 and nearly beat Condit in a Fight of the Night match at UFC 131 in Vancouver.

He's big, strong and athletic and has near-flawless technique. Yet, despite his youth and despite his brilliance, he won't get near a title unless St-Pierre abdicates his belt or MacDonald changes his mind and chooses to fight his friend.

He insists he'll never betray his friendship with St-Pierre and will deal with that issue in his own way.

"Everybody wants to talk to me about fighting Georges, but you know what, I've got to go out there and beat up B.J. Penn," he said. "One thing isn't going