Rory MacDonald ‘Would Prefer’ To Defend Two Titles Simultaneously
Rory MacDonald ‘Would Prefer’ to defend two titles simultaneously if victorious at Bellator 206.
On Saturday (Sept. 29, 2018) night, the “Red King” will attempt to capture his second world championship in a major MMA promotion. If MacDonald is victorious he will become only the sixth fighter to hold two titles simultaneously. Randy Couture, BJ Penn, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, and Daniel Cormier are the others.
The man standing in MacDonald’s way is Bellator‘s middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. A win for Mousasi doesn’t equate to another title, but a win over the “Red King” would sure be a feather in the cap of the Dutchman.
The “Red King” Speaks
Speaking with reporters at the Bellator 206 media day MacDonald explained how he is 100% focused on the upcoming welterweight Grand Prix. But if he does beat Mousasi he would love to defend both titles.
“I would like to,” MacDonald told MMAWeekly.com when asked about defending both titles. “I’d have to talk with Bellator because I have the obligation of doing the welterweight tournament and that’s going to take about a year. I’m sure that the other middleweights are going to want a crack at the championship fight so I guess we’re going to have to see.”
“If I became the middleweight champion, I would prefer to stay that way. I wouldn’t want to get stripped but I understand I have an obligation at welterweight doing that tournament. We’ll see.”
MacDonald is set to defend his welterweight title in the opening round of the Grand Prix. He will face former UFC title challenger Jon Fitch early next year.
What Scott Coker Thinks
Bellator President Scott Coker isn’t exactly against MacDonald holding on to the middleweight strap while he participates in the Grand Prix. However, he hasn’t made any decisions on the matter either.
“Rory will enter the 170-pound tournament after his fight with Gegard so we’ll talk to Rory and see how he felt and a lot of it will depend on what the fighter wants to do,” Coker told MMAWeekly.com. “That door is open and we’re not going to close it.”
Bellator 206 takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, California and also features a fourth fight between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. The welterweight Grand Prix kicks off with a trilogy between former champs Lima and Andrey Koreshkov.
