Rory MacDonald Plans To ‘Wreck People’ In Bellator
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory “Red King” MacDonald will make his Bellator debut, when he facesveteran slugger Paul “Semtex” Daley in the main event of Bellator 179 on May 19, 2017 from London.
Following a solid run in the UFC that saw him fall just short of becoming champion, the Canadian star signed with the promotion last year, but made it clear that he needed some time off after brutally re-injuring his nose in a loss to Stephen Thompson after initially breaking it in a legendary rematch with Robbie Lawler at UFC 189.
Heading into his Bellator debut, MacDonald is obviously looking for dominant performances, but he still welcomes a ‘rough’ fight despite his recent injuries:
“Who wouldn’t want a dominant performance?” MacDonald said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour. “That’s what I’m shooting for. I’m fighting the best guys in the world. … I would be a fool to think I wouldn’t leave with a little blood and a few scrapes here and there. You’ve gotta learn how to like that stuff. I’m a rough guy and I like it when fights get tough.”
The “Red King” did admit that he’d like to shy away from those type of back-and-forth wars, but his mentality to destroy his opponent hasn’t changed:
“I’m gonna step back from that and focus on my strengths and apply them in my fights,” MacDonald said. “And not give a sh*t what everybody else’s strength is. I’m just gonna go in there and wreck people with what I know.”
His fight with Daley is one of the most intriguing on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, and although MacDonald planned on staying on the sidelines a bit longer, he admitted that the fight was too intriguing to pass up despite the fact that he had hoped for a title shot in his promotional debut:
“That’s what I was pushing for,” MacDonald said. “It was looking like that. But it’s all about timing. This just happened to fit properly. This is a No. 1 contender fight. It’s possible that my very next fight will be for the title.”
His heart-breaking loss to Lawler currently one of (if not the) best UFC fights of all time, “The Red King” has shown the tools and mindset to beat any 170-pound fighter in MMA on any given day, including current UFC champion Tyron Woodley, whom he thoroughly dominated at 2014’s UFC 174.
Do you expect MacDonald to get his hands on Bellator gold later this year?
