Michael McDonald is a very promising prospect in the bantamweight division. He's a good, quick athlete who looks to finish his fights, as early and often as possible. McDonald shows versatility throughout his MMA game, and already holds stoppage wins over former WEC Champion Cole Escovedo, and bantamweight title contender Manny Tapia.

McDonald's wrestling is still not completely tested, but he's a quick fighter who's capable of taking his opponents to the mat in a flash. On the ground, McDonald is a slick grappler who shows tight technique and a solid BJJ game. McDonald does enter the sport with good grappling credentials, having earned his brown belt by the age of eighteen in addition to capturing three US Open Championships. A patient grappler, McDonald doesn't force his submissions and will use his punching to effectively soften up his opponents on the ground. He's equipped with long arms that he uses to cut through and around his opponents' guard. Long limbed and flexible, McDonald uses his arms and legs impressively in controlling his opponents very well on the ground. He smoothly transitions between his submission attempts and despite his age and experience, McDonald does a good job of not getting sloppy with his technique. While he still has a lot to prove and will need to continue working on his sprawl and overall grappling ability, McDonald's shown he's a talented fighter who possesses tremendous upside in his ground game.

McDonald is an all-around intelligent fighter who's armed with a composed, technical striking game. He's blessed with very quick instincts, shows good defensive awareness and slips punches nicely. McDonald has good length and likes using his reach from the outside where he's armed with a nice straight right and left hook. McDonald shows smart counter punching abilities - including a good counter right cross, and works the body nicely with his striking. Intelligent and composed, McDonald stays away from needless exchanges on the feet while still maintaining his killer instinct. He will immediately look to capitalize on any chances that present themselves, and overall while McDonald will need to continue working on his technical game, he's a talented fighter who is fully capable of developing into a very proficient standup fighter.