Although he lost back-to-back fights to then champion Robbie Lawler and top contender Stephen Thompson to end his UFC tenure, Rory “Red King” MacDonald is still only 27 years of age and undoubtedly one of the best 170 pounders in the world, which is why it was surprising to see the world’s largest mixed martial […]
Although he lost back-to-back fights to then champion Robbie Lawler and top contender Stephen Thompson to end his UFC tenure, Rory “Red King” MacDonald is still only 27 years of age and undoubtedly one of the best 170 pounders in the world, which is why it was surprising to see the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion let him go.
Either way, the Canadian made his Bellator debut this past Friday (May 19, 2017), successfully submitting English knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley in the main event of Bellator 179 from London, England.
With that performance, MacDonald feels as if he likely got the attention of the UFC, although he admits he’s ‘very happy’ with his new promotion:
“I opened a lot of eyes I think and I’m sure the management over at UFC feels the same way as you just said,” Rory said during a recent interview on The MMA Hour. “We are in the shoes we are in now and I’m going to continue my journey in the way I fought on Friday and we’ll see where we are next contract negotiations. But, I am very happy with Bellator and I hope they are with me, too,“ said MacDonald. “I foresee a long relationship with each other.”
MacDonald also feels as if he may have changed the view of the UFC when it comes to free agency, as the promotion has let a few well-known stars walk in recent memory. The “Red King” also said that the UFC ‘messed up’ in not resigning him:
“As far as them not wanting to let go of some of their talent, being cautious on how easy they let things slip through their fingers. As I’ve said in the past, fighters can’t always be on 24/7 every time they step into the ring,” he added. “So you have to allow for these performances that aren’t up to par from what you normally see. So, I think they definitely messed up when they let me go, but, that’s their fault and Bellator’s gain.”
The Canadian may have a point, as he holds wins over current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and current No. 1-contender Demian Maia, while still being in the prime of his career. On the contrary, he must look forward to what he called ‘chapter three’ of his career and he’s planning to make a run at two Bellator titles by the end of 2017:
“I’d like to fight for the Middleweight title maybe at the end of the year if there is a big card we can promote and get me and the Middleweight champion on there,” said Rory.
“Obviously, I am not looking past the welterweight championship fight, I’m just saying if everything goes as planned. An end of the year show for the Middleweight title would be fantastic.”
MacDonald is indeed expected to take on the winner of June 24’s welterweight championship fight between champion Douglas Lima and Lorenz Larkin.
Michael Page was supposed to fight Derek Anderson in the co-main event of Bellator 179 over the weekend. However, that bout was scrapped after Page pulled out of the fight. Even though he didn’t fight at the event, Page was in attendance for the show and a target of a heated in-cage callout from Paul […]
Michael Page was supposed to fight Derek Anderson in the co-main event of Bellator 179 over the weekend. However, that bout was scrapped after Page pulled out of the fight. Even though he didn’t fight at the event, Page was in attendance for the show and a target of a heated in-cage callout from Paul Daley following Daley’s loss to Rory MacDonald in the main event. This led to Daley charging at Page outside of the cage, which led to a scuffle between the two fighters in the stands of London’s SSE Arena.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, Page said he wasn’t surprised to see that type of behavior from Daley.
“I kind of expected it,” Page explained on The MMA Hour. “Because I felt he went in there knowing that if he wins the fight, he would automatically call out Douglas Lima, going for the belt, and if he lost, which he did, he would call me out. So, I think that was just very tactical. But I have to say, I’m extremely disappointed, and I’ve lost all respect for Paul Daley. And it’s not because of him calling me out. The main reason was his mom was in the crowd, distressed and angry after the incident. And obviously, knowing that your family is there, you have to be careful, you have to be professional about how you handle yourself. And I had to kind of explain and calm her down. We had a lovely conversation; although it was tense, I had to calm her down. It left her feeling a lot better afterward obviously, but I would never put my mother in that situation, having to defend my battles over something that I caused. So I have to say that I’ve lost a hell of a lot of respect for him.”
Their rivalry dates back to last year as the two former acquaintances began taking potshots at one another through the media. Despite the bad blood, Daley stated several times that they were not on the same level and even referred to Page’s the Adrien Broner to his own Floyd Mayweather. Daley went one step further by calling Page the ‘Justin Bieber of MMA’ after Page released an original music video calling out Daley.
Image from ‘Poketouch’
“I find it funny, because there’s a time and a place for everything, and since all the hype started, we’ve been at a couple of events where we’ve been sitting across the room from each other, and this was the first time he’s looked me in my eyes,” Page said. “And he decides to do it then. I was a bit annoyed, but then at the same time, I found it a bit funny because, one, if he exited the cage the opposite way, within five steps he could’ve looked me straight in my face, and there was hardly anybody around at that side. He went out the opposite way and then decided to create a scene and charge towards me. I hadn’t actually said anything to him at the time, so I would love to actually hear what triggered him to turn around and charge at me anyway. I hadn’t said anything, I hadn’t shouted anything, I hadn’t waved at him, there was nothing. So, again, I think he’s just trying to sell another fight and distract people from the whooping he actually got in the cage.”
The incident somewhat overshadowed Daley performance against MacDonald, which was a one-sided loss as MacDonald submitted him. Daley said in the post-fight interview that MacDonald “played the safest way to get the win” by resorting to his wrestling.
“It was horrible,” Page said. “You know when you’re watching the back room when they’re warming up for a fight and you have a training partner helping you out? It just felt like Paul Daley was in there as Rory MacDonald’s training partner, and Rory absolutely destroyed him. Again, I find it funny that he had immediate excuses after the fight. Again, that just shows your character, because he got completely schooled in every area and his excuses were, ‘oh yeah, he took the safe way out. He decided to take me down. He knew that he’s better than me there.’ Now, why does he know that? You’re supposed to be an established MMA fighter. It shouldn’t be a case of, ‘yeah, he knows he can take me here and win.’ You should be working on all areas of your game. So I just feel like, immediately after losing, you should have the decency to congratulate someone for that kind of performance.”
Page noted that he expects to spend the next few months recovering from his knee injury but wants to get back inside the cage very soon to settle his issues with Daley. Page wants the fight to be booked as soon as it can be and promised that he would give Daley his third loss inside the Bellator cage in his hometown.
“I would love for Bellator to set up another show immediately in London, and I think I owe it to the London crowd, because my injury this time,” Page said. “I would love to come back here as soon as possible. I think me and him alone would fill this place. I think the hype around this fight is going to be insane, and there’s very few times you’re going to see two English people doing this fighting, causing so much hype for one bout, and I think we need to get it done as soon as possible. I don’t want to wait until next year. I want it done now. I want my next fight to be him. I actually guarantee, in that fight, he’s going to try and take me down. I guarantee it. He was talking about Rory taking the safe option — I guarantee he tries to take me down when we fight, because he’s not going to handle my striking. He’s not going to handle my movement. He’s not going to handle my precision. He’s going to show a lot, he’s a very emotional fighter as well, as that’s going to drive him to make very bad mistakes in that fight.”
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory “Red King” MacDonald made his Bellator debut this past Friday (May 19, 2017), successfully submitting British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley in the main event of Bellator 179 from London, England. After signing with the promotion last year, MacDonald said that he was interested in competing in multiple weight […]
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory “Red King” MacDonald made his Bellator debut this past Friday (May 19, 2017), successfully submitting British knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley in the main event of Bellator 179 from London, England.
After signing with the promotion last year, MacDonald said that he was interested in competing in multiple weight classes. With his first promotional victory now under his belt, the “Red King” revealed some of his lofty goals, which involve becoming a two-weight world champion in addition to fighting some of the sport’s most iconic names:
“I want to be a champion, a two-division champion if I can,” MacDonald said to press members backstage (transcription courtesy of champions.co). “Outside of that, I want the big fights. If I can fight the legendary fighters that are around and in Bellator then sign me up. I think they will be fan friendly fights. A young up and coming champions fighting legends—I think that sells. Fedor, Wanderlei, those are big guys and I think fans would want to see that.”
Fedor Emelianenko, a man many consider to be the very best heavyweight of all-time, will make his Bellator debut against Matt Mitrione at June 24’s Bellator: NYC pay-per-view (PPV) at Madison Square Garden. Wanderlei Silva, on the other hand, will also make his promotional debut on June 24, as he’s set to headline the event in a grudge match against Chael Sonnen.
It’d be hard to imagine MacDonald, a natural welterweight, moving up two or three weight classes to meet fighters like Silva or Emelianenko, but the Canadian claims that he’ll continue ‘bugging’ Bellator for these types of fights:
“The train is ready to keep rolling,” MacDonald said. “I’ve got some momentum now and I’m ready to take fights all the time. Bellator are very clear because I’m on them all the time, [I want] future fights, here, here, and here. Whether it’s weight classes up and whenever possible you know. I’m always bugging them and they know what’s up.”
Despite these aspirations, MacDonald is next expected to challenger for 170-pound goal, as he awaits the winner of June 24’s title fight between champion Douglas Lima and newly signed Lorenz Larkin.
Former UFC title contender Rory MacDonald made a successful debut against Paul Daley in the main event of yesterday’s (Fri., May 19, 2017) Bellator 179 from the SSE Arena in London, England. Faced with arguably the most feared knockout striker in Bellator’s suddenly booming welterweight division, MacDonald showed why he is still one of the elite […]
Former UFC title contender Rory MacDonald made a successful debut against Paul Daley in the main event of yesterday’s (Fri., May 19, 2017) Bellator 179 from the SSE Arena in London, England.
Faced with arguably the most feared knockout striker in Bellator’s suddenly booming welterweight division, MacDonald showed why he is still one of the elite 170-pounders in the world when he submitted the British longtime veteran with a rear-naked choke.
It was a victory that sent notice to the rest of the Bellator roster that MacDonald is here to take over. Watch the full fight video highlights of “The Red King’s” debut win courtesy of MMA Fighting here:
Bellator 179 was a memorable show, and the ending was fitting to a great night of fights. After former UFC welterweight title contender Rory MacDonald had choked out Paul Daley in the main event of Bellator 179, there was a scuffle. Chamatkar Sandhu was on-site and captured some great footage of Daley confronting top prospect […]
Bellator 179 was a memorable show, and the ending was fitting to a great night of fights. After former UFC welterweight title contender Rory MacDonald had choked out Paul Daley in the main event of Bellator 179, there was a scuffle.
Chamatkar Sandhu was on-site and captured some great footage of Daley confronting top prospect Michael Page. After the brief scuffle happens, Daley is taken away by security. You can watch it here:
Page was scheduled to fight Derek Anderson in the co-main event of the show but unfortunately, he had to withdraw from his fight due to a knee injury. Although Page as never been booked to fight his fellow compatriot, Daley has been very vocal in the past about what he thinks of Page.
In previous interviews, Daley has called Page “deluded,” and said of Page’s latest injury-related withdraw, “It seems that every time there is a genuine test for Mike, where we see if we can see something else, not someone who can necessarily beat him, but someone who will be able to highlight something or see if he has the right quality to go forward, he seems to get injured.”
Bellator 179 took place on Friday, May 19, 2017, at the SSE Arena in London, England. The prelims aired on online at 7 p.m. ET while the main card aired on tape delay at 9:00 pm EST on Spike TV.
Bellator 179 was a memorable show, and the ending was fitting to a great night of fights. After former UFC welterweight title contender Rory MacDonald had choked out Paul Daley in the main event of Bellator 179, there was a scuffle. Chamatkar Sandhu was on-site and captured some great footage of Daley confronting top prospect […]
Bellator 179 was a memorable show, and the ending was fitting to a great night of fights. After former UFC welterweight title contender Rory MacDonald had choked out Paul Daley in the main event of Bellator 179, there was a scuffle.
Chamatkar Sandhu was on-site and captured some great footage of Daley confronting top prospect Michael Page. After the brief scuffle happens, Daley is taken away by security. You can watch it here:
Page was scheduled to fight Derek Anderson in the co-main event of the show but unfortunately, he had to withdraw from his fight due to a knee injury. Although Page as never been booked to fight his fellow compatriot, Daley has been very vocal in the past about what he thinks of Page.
In previous interviews, Daley has called Page “deluded,” and said of Page’s latest injury-related withdraw, “It seems that every time there is a genuine test for Mike, where we see if we can see something else, not someone who can necessarily beat him, but someone who will be able to highlight something or see if he has the right quality to go forward, he seems to get injured.”
Bellator 179 took place on Friday, May 19, 2017, at the SSE Arena in London, England. The prelims aired on online at 7 p.m. ET while the main card aired on tape delay at 9:00 pm EST on Spike TV.
