After 21 violent minutes, Rory MacDonald‘s arsenal was spent. Beyond his last breath, the Canadian contender had nothing left to give as he lay shattered on the Octagon canvas.
Few people realized it at the time, but there and then, in MacDonald’s most difficult moment as a professional fighter, the seed was planted for the next phase of his career. Images of the clash with Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 remain raw and impossible to forget. For good or for ill, MacDonald’s ability to endure pain made it a championship bout for the ages.
Thirteen months later, on the verge of what should be his prime years as an athlete, having been materially changed by the experience of fighting to his breaking point, MacDonald decided to leave the UFC in hopes of something else, something more appealing.
“For me, that title fight against Robbie was an eye-opener,” said MacDonald, who saw the light while his eyes swelled from punches as he pocketed a paltry $59,000. “OK, we got to the show where we wanted to go. It didn’t work out, but now it’s time to start making some money.”
Widely regarded as one of MMA‘s top welterweights, MacDonald (18-4) officially signed with Bellator MMA on Friday night following a six-and-a-half-year stint with the UFC where “The Red King” was established as a talented and popular contender happy to go through hell if need be.
Still on the mend from one of the most savage fights in recent memory, MacDonald returned to the Octagon in June knowing he was physically unprepared to compete at his best. A stiff shot to his nose meant another setback and more pain, yet the consequences were acceptable because MacDonald, win or lose, would get the chance to cultivate his post-Lawler vision once he was done with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Having thought long and hard about his future, MacDonald concluded that rather than take time off to heal correctly, his freedom was worth the risk of losing consecutively for the first time in his career.
“Last time, I didn’t treat it the way I was supposed to,” he said. “I was too hungry to get back in the gym, to get in there and spar with guys to fight.”
MacDonald said the decision to leave UFC for Bellator came easily. Bellator gave him the opportunity to develop and grow a business together, and he felt the promotion respected him as a professional athlete. His marketability in Canada is a major reason Bellator President Scott Coker signed a fighter who, at a glance, carries the potential of damaged goods. Intent on giving his face a chance to fully heal, MacDonald said he won’t fight until the summer of 2017.
“I can’t be taking a year off between every fight,” MacDonald said. “That’s just not what I’m about. I’m going to give [my nose] the time it needs to heal back to 100 percent, then hopefully I can fight once a quarter. I usually fight once a quarter, so that’s the plan.”
If MacDonald can make good on that level of activity, his signing should be a boon for Bellator, particularly in his native land.
“There are a lot of opportunities that Bellator is giving me,” MacDonald said. “The belief that they have in me. The weight that they’re putting on me to promote me to go into Canada. We’re going to take Bellator into Canada, and we’re going to do it big. We’re going to reinvigorate that market. Those fans are going to get a proper fight show again.”
By joining a Viacom-owned property that comes off as a plucky underdog to the $4 billion UFC, MacDonald is following the path other high-profile UFC fighters have paved. Top contender Phil Davis and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, who headlined Friday’s Bellator 160 card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, have spoken glowingly about their transition from the UFC. MacDonald views his arrangement similarly: as a partnership with a promoter that gives him some autonomy, rather than being relegated to a cog in the machine.
“We get to be our own individual self and promote ourselves,” he said. “Whereas where I was before, everyone is wearing the same uniforms. Now we’re all walking out of the same boring dressing room. It’s boring. People are tired of that.
“You walk into the cage like every single other person on the roster. We’re basically a robot walking into the cage.”
For a man not regarded for his charisma, MacDonald’s comments are curious, and they don’t necessarily reflect the truth of things. Yes, UFC’s fighters are mandated to wear outfits that look like Uno cards, yet some of them have become rich and famous while doing so. With the potential of big-money pay-per-views, UFC is an appealing place to fight as well.
This is why free agency and its rewards are not a one-way street. Bellator veterans have opted to head to the UFC, too, and some have thrived both financially and in the cage. In July, Eddie Alvarez rose to become the promotion’s lightweight champion after taking down Rafael dos Anjos. Will Brooks couldn’t wait to leave Bellator, so he gave up the promotion’s lightweight championship and ran when he had the chance.
Entering his third year as president of Bellator, Coker views the influence of free agency as vital for fighters and the overall health of MMA.
“This is good for the MMA industry, not just for Bellator or whoever,” Coker said during the press conference introducing MacDonald as a Bellator fighter. “You need to have two buyers. When you only have one buyer, the price will ultimately go down at the end of the day.”
The addition of top young competitors such as MacDonald is key for Bellator to move beyond the prevalent mindset among fans and media who see it as a second-class organization. Bellator has occasionally damaged its reputation under Coker’s leadership, like the night Kimbo Slice fought Dada 5000 and dinosaurs Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie met in a sad spectacle. The big ratings for Spike allowed Coker to justify the matchmaking. That, though, is fleeting, risky stuff.
Coker is aware that as much as he enjoys the occasional low-hanging fruit of a circus fight, the future of Bellator can’t be tied to those kinds of events. As his short-term and long-term visions for the company merge, the hope is dismissive attitudes—similar to the ones leveled at Strikeforce, which Coker founded, before Zuffa purchased it in 2011—will melt away as talented fighters emerge into known fighters, and, potentially, bankable stars.
“We built Luke Rockhold. We built Daniel Cormier. We built Tyron Woodley,” Coker said of his leadership at Strikeforce. “These were guys we found from scratch. I think we’re very good star-identifiers, and we know how to build stars in this business, and that’s what we’re doing here. It’s the same formula.”
Sprinkle in the increasing ability to pluck away some of UFC’s talent, and Coker envisions a future for Bellator that puts it on par with MMA’s premier group that was recently purchased for $4 billion—a notion that has MMA supporters inside Viacom excited about the future.
“We’re going to go after every free agent that’s out there,” Coker said. “And if you’re a fighter fighting in a different league and you want to exercise your free agency, that’s how you’ll know your value. To me, I think Rory did the right thing. And why wouldn’t you? If you don’t, you’re only going to know what one company is offering.”
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