Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald’s rise in the UFC continues to be nothing short of meteoric. And after devastating submission victories over Ed Herman at Ultimate Fight Night on Spike TV and Chris Leben at UFC 66 on pay-per-view, MacDonald will return to the Octagon for his biggest test yet at UFC 68: The Uprising. On March 3 in Columbus, Ohio, MacDonald will square off against former UFC middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin.

Now clearly a top-five contender following his spectacular chokeout of Leben, a victory over Franklin would factor MacDonald as a serious challenger for the UFC crown.

“When you continue to be successful in the UFC, each time you go back you get a tougher fight,” said MacDonald. “I got a big win over Leben who was considered to be in the top five and now they’re giving me someone else who is another top guy.

“The UFC is trying to build up Kendall Grove and I’m on a roll right now so that fight might come later on. But Rich needs a fight coming back after his loss to new champion Anderson Silva and (UFC head matchmaker) Joe Silva told me that he likes to match up fights that the fans are going to be excited about.

“He said a lot of people thought I’d lose to Herman and then they thought I’d lose to Leben and probably a lot think I’ll lose to Franklin. But he thinks I can win and I know I can win that fight. The UFC is excited about it so I’m excited about it. It’s a huge opportunity for me.”

Added Mark Pavelich, MacDonald’s manager from Pro Camp Sports Management: “Jason has become a very popular figure in the UFC and was swarmed by fans after he beat Chris Leben. Even though the fight is in Ohio where Rich is from, I guarantee that when Jason wins he’ll be signing autographs and posing for pictures for hours just like he did in Las Vegas and in Fort Lauderdale.”

While there has been some speculation amongst fans that Franklin presents too big of a challenge for MacDonald at this point, “The Athlete” is more than eager to test himself against Franklin, who holds notable career victories over Ken Shamrock, David Loiseau, Nate Quarry, and Marvin Eastman.

“People consider me a big middleweight and we’ve both fought at 205 pounds before so we’re comparable there,” offered MacDonald.

“I’m not crazy about fighting a left-hander again but it’s my fourth one this year so it’s not a big deal anymore. The thing about Rich unlike Leben is that Rich is a polished striker. Leben is a brawler who swings from the fences and his style made my standup look worse. Maybe Rich will figure my standup isn’t that good and that’s fine with me.

“I’ve worked a lot on my striking with some good boxers so I feel very confident in my standup.”

And if it comes down to a battle of submissions, MacDonald has proven to be incredibly dangerous. In fact, his unorthodox guillotine choke which rendered Leben unconscious was voted No. 4 in the UFC’s Submission of the Year derby while his triangle choke which put Herman away was recognized as an honourable mention in the same voting.

“I guess I’ll have to look at the top three to see where I think I should be ranked,” laughed MacDonald.

“I got suckered into a brawl with Leben in the first round and everything I wanted to do well went out the window. But in each fight I learn something and when I got back to my game plan, I was able to finish the fight.”