Rory MacDonald News

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2018

Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald had a chance to make history in his last time out. At Bellator 206, MacDonald was moving up to the middleweight division to take on middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. The ‘Red King’ was looking to be the first ever dual-division champion in Bellator history. Ultimately, the Canadian failed to do that in what was a fairly dominant win for Mousasi.

James Lynch - October 12, 2018

We won’t be seeing Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald return to the cage anytime soon. That’s according to Bellator President Scott Coker who confirmed with MMAJunkie that MacDonald suffered another broken nose injury following his loss to middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 206.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2018

On Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator 206, Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald moved up to the middleweight division to challenge divisional champ Gegard Mousasi. If Rory MacDonald had succeeded on this gutsy mission, he would have become the first fighter in Bellator history to hold titles in two divisions concurrently. Unfortunately for the welterweight champion, this middleweight title fight did not go as planned. Instead, he was soundly beaten by Mousasi, succumbing to a thunderous bombardment of strikes in the bout’s second round.

Chris Taylor - September 29, 2018

Gegard Mousasi picked up his first ever Bellator middleweight title defense this evening in San Jose, defeating Rory MacDonald via second-round TKO in the Bellator 206 main event. Mousasi was able to pick “The Red King” apart with a nasty jab for the opening five minutes of the contest.

Tom Taylor - September 28, 2018

This Saturday, in the main event of the stacked Bellator 206 card, Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald will move up to middleweight in an effort to swipe the middleweight belt from the waist of divisional champ Gegard Mousasi. No matter the outcome of this fight, MacDonald will then drop back down to welterweight, where he will attempt to defend his title in a welterweight tournament featuring Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, Michael Page, Ed Ruth, Neiman Gracie, and Jon Fitch, the latter of whom MacDonald will meet in the first round.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

This weekend, in the main event of Bellator 206, Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will attempt to defend his title against the promotion’s welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. Although Gegard Mousasi will be the bigger, heavier fighter in the cage on Saturday night, he’s not expecting that advantage to play all that much of a role in the fight. Smaller fighters, after all, have defeated larger fighters on many occasions. Mousasi himself is proof of this fact.

Cole Shelton - September 19, 2018

On Sept. 29, Rory MacDonald will have the chance to become a two-weight champion in Bellator. The current welterweight title holder will be taking on the reigning Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi for his 185-pound strap. Interestingly, win or lose against Mousasi, MacDonald will be participating in Bellator’s welterweight Grand Prix. With the Grand Prix, the Canadian will be putting his belt on the line in every fight that he participates in, thus adding an interesting wrinkle to the tournament.

Drake Riggs - September 17, 2018

After two very smartly fought title defending performances, a necessary shoulder surgery led to the brief break of about a year for the UFC’s welterweight champion. Once he returned, it was time to remind all the doubters how skilled that he truly is. And he did just that. Of course, the champion in reference is “The Chosen One” Tyron Woodley. Despite those two title defenses that followed his draw with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in their first encounter, fans and pundits alike still didn’t seem all too sold on the reigning champion. It just further showed going into his recent defense against Darren Till as Woodley was once again the betting underdog.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

On September 29, in the main event of Bellator’s first event on DAZN, Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will attempt to defend his title against Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald in a bona fide Bellator super fight.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2018

According to a report from ESPN, Bellator MMA has booked a middleweight title super fight between divisional champion Gegard Mousasi and welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. The fight is expected to occur on September 29, when Bellator returns to San Jose, California. This card, which is shaping up to absolutely massive for the promotion, is also expected to feature a fourth fight between light heavyweight legends Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2018

Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald and new Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi want to fight each other. That could not be any clearer.  “Obviously, me and Gegard want it and I think the fans want it,” MacDonald said on The MMA Hour this week. “I think it would be the biggest fight that Bellator, that they could put on right now. In my opinion, if they pass this opportunity by, it would be a mistake because how often can you get this kind of timing and one fight could change the direction of any one of our careers, so I think the opportunity is now and we should take it.”

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2018

Shortly after winning the Bellator middleweight title with a first-round mauling of Rafael Carvalho, Gegard Mousasi called for a fight with Bellator welterweight champ Rory MacDonald. Not long thereafter, MacDonald answered this call, assuring it’s a fight he wants as well. Days later, both Bellator champions appeared onThe MMA Hour, where they each explained the appeal of the matchup.

Tom Taylor - April 30, 2018

Over the last few weeks, undefeated former Bellator and ONE welterweight titleholder Ben Askren has expressed interest in ending his retirement for a fight with Rory MacDonald in Bellator, or Georges St-Pierre in the UFC. Chatri Sityodtong, the Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship (where Askren is still technically under contract) seemed willing to work with Bellator to allow Askren to fight Rory MacDonald.

Drake Riggs - April 18, 2018

Despite what many may be led to believe, there is a flawlessly dominant wrestler outside of the UFC that may be a lot more well known than people assume. That wrestler turned undefeated multi-time MMA champion is none other than ‘Funky’ Ben Askren. Askren went 18-0 in his professional career before semi-retiring this past November. Funky Ben was most well known for being the dominant champion of both Bellator and ONE Championship.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

It’s been no secret that Rory MacDonald wanted big things from his transition to Bellator. He dominated Paul Daley in his debut and then won a war with Douglas Lima to finally become a world champion. After he defends his title against whoever is next – most likely Andrei Koreshkov – MacDonald wants to become Bellator’s “Champ Champ”. Let’s give what the audience wants to see.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

When Georges St-Pierre was set to appear on The MMA Hour, we all thought we may have an announcement about his next fight. Instead, the two-division champion looked down a long list of possible huge opponents and didn’t really seem too thrilled with any of them. While he may not know his exact plan of attack on his return, Rory MacDonald believes St-Pierre’s career is far from over. “Even if [Georges St-Pierre] lost five in a row, still I don’t think it would taint what he’s done. He’s done some of the most amazing stuff in the sport so far, so I’m really happy for him. If he feels he has more left in the tank, then I think absolutely he should get in there and do his thing. I don’t think any top fighter like that should feel like he left the game early.”

Drake Riggs - March 9, 2018

The new Bellator welterweight champion is none other than the veteran UFC Canadian phenom, the ‘Red King’ Rory MacDonald. He earned his very first world title in his last outing which was a war with former two-time Bellator champion, Douglas Lima. In the bout, MacDonald had Lima’s number in the wrestling department as he continually hit takedowns throughout. But his title win didn’t come without some adversity as Lima landed some devastating leg kicks that caused a massive hematoma on MacDonald’s shin. An injury that the new champion told MMAJunkie he’s still recovering from.

Tom Taylor - February 1, 2018

While Rory MacDonald spent the last few months preparing for his Bellator welterweight title fight with Douglas Lima (which he won via hard-fought decision), he’s also repeatedly expressed interest in serving as an alternate in Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. This Heavyweight Grand Prix is populated by far larger men in Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Frank Mir, and Fedor Emelianenko. Despite the fact that entering this tournament would force MacDonald to fight men three weight classes heavier than him, his coach Firas Zahabi is all for it. In fact, he believes MacDonald could thrive in this tournament, even KO the likes of the legend Fedor Emelianenko.