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Could Rory MacDonald leave Bellator? Would the UFC come calling?
Rory MacDonald’s Bellator 232 title bout last weekend was the final fight on his current contract with the promotion. The doors could open up for the now former Bellator welterweight champion, and he will again have options and big decisions to make.
Could he re-sign with Bellator and go for a trilogy against Douglas Lima now that they’re 1-1 against each other? Could the UFC suddenly come calling again with a better offer?
Things are still up in the air, but MacDonald says he’d accept a title fight if Bellator gets him the right deal.
“I wouldn’t say no. If they want to do it, they can do it. First I’ve got to re-sign,” MacDonald said following the contest (transcript via MMAJunkie). “My contract expired. We’ve got to deal with that situation. Obviously if they want to give a title shot, sure.
“It’s very likely (we rematch),” he said. “We had to close fights. He won one, I won one. It’s kind of inevitable that we’ll probably fight again.”
MacDonald, a former UFC title contender, left the promotion as a free agent in 2016. He has fought six times with Bellator since, where he managed to win and defend their welterweight belt twice.
His two losses with Bellator were a 2018 super-fight against middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi, and last weekend’s decision loss to the new champion in Lima.