Rory MacDonald is taking control of his fighting life again.
The Red King had been deeply unhappy with his UFC contract for the past two years but it was still somewhat of a surprise when talk of a switch to Bellator first circulated.
Rory MacDonald has left the UFC and reportedly signed with rival promotion Bellator https://t.co/gWkYiZ4upg pic.twitter.com/2lSoXFpi9I
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 24, 2016
Last night, Bellator formally announced that they had acquired the Canadian welterweight an a ‘multi-year, multi-fight contract’.
MacDonald had been likened to Georges St-Pierre, his TriStar Montreal stablemate, when he started to run through opponents in the UFC – he has wins over BJ Penn, Nate Diaz and current 170 lbs champion Tyron Woodley. Unfortunately for MacDonald, his ascent was halted twice by Robbie Lawler.
MacDonald came out the wrong side of two wars against Ruthless and missed out on the UFC belt. He then lost what many felt was a No.1 contender bout with Stephen Wonderboy Thompson in his final bout before he became a free agent. The nose he had broken and re-broken against Lawler had busted again and he will, most likely, require surgery to strengthen it.
The ever articulate, considered MacDonald offered up three reasons for his switch from the UFC:
“One, they have given me the opportunity to develop and grow a business together. Two, because I already feel respected by the promotion as a professional athlete.
“And last but not least, because Bellator is offering a setup that no-one in the world can offer me.”
Bellator president describes MacDonald as ‘the cream of the crop when it comes to free agents in MMA’.
“If there is a free agent out there,” Coker added, “we’re going to talk to them, if they fit our model we’re going to make a hard push to bring them over here. I’m very happy that we were able to work out a deal with Rory, and I can’t wait to see him bring his menacing style to the Bellator cage.”
MacDonald joins a welterweight division with champion Andrey Koreshkov and former UFC fighter Benson Henderson in its ranks.
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