Rory MacDonald threw a bucket of cold water on Bellator’s welterweight title fight Saturday night, just seconds after it happened.
The top 170-pound fighter, who should be in line for a title fight next, slammed the performances of Douglas Lima and Lorenz Larkin at Bellator NYC at Madison Square Garden. Lima ended up winning a unanimous decision against the very tough UFC veteran. But MacDonald wanted to see more.
“I was really underwhelmed,” MacDonald said on the broadcast. “I was expecting a good fight. I had a lot of excitement going into this fight. Larkin is an excellent fighter. If these guys think they’re keeping a belt fighting like that against me, it’s not gonna happen. I’m gonna take these guys out. They’re just gonna be another body in the grave.”
After the win, Lima told MacDonald to “come get it” and said that MacDonald has been in tough fights in the past, but won’t know a real tough fight until he steps in the cage with him.
“The Red King” is likely to get that shot against Lima, one of Bellator’s best fighters historically, sometime in the fall. MacDonald, 27, won his Bellator debut against Paul Daley by second-round submission in May. The Canadian owns wins over current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, as well as Nate Diaz, BJ Penn and Demian Maia.
Speaking to Mike Goldberg and Josh Thomson on the desk, MacDonald explained that he’s done fighting cautiously and wants to let his true ability come out.
“This is the next chapter in my career,” MacDonald said. “I’m not playing games anymore. i’m coming forward, I’m doing my style now. I’m not playing games. I’m not point fighting anymore. I’m there to take you out. I’m hunting you down, and I’m gonna bury you and that’s it.”
MacDonald (19-4) came close to beating Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 in 2015, a fight that many believe is one of the best in UFC history. MacDonald lost his next bout to Stephen Thompson and then departed the UFC as a free agent for Bellator.
Now, he is angling for that promotion’s welterweight title. And he believes it could be around his waist soon if Lima fights the way he did Saturday night.
“That was not up to par, that’s for sure,” MacDonald said.
