New Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald (file pic). Andrew Vaughan
Andrew Vaughan
RORY MACDONALD NEVER got his hands on the title during his 13-fight reign with the UFC, but it’s taken him just two outings to conquer Bellator’s welterweight division.
MacDonald (20-4), who left the UFC last year to sign for their nearest rivals, scored a unanimous-decision victory over defending 170-pound champion Douglas Lima (29-7) at Bellator 192 in Inglewood, California.
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The 28-year-old Canadian remains the last man to defeat current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. However, his time with the UFC ended with defeats to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and — 11 months earlier — Robbie Lawler in an epic title bout at UFC 189.
Known for his toughness and resolve, MacDonald was victorious against Lima after overcoming a broken nose and a grim leg injury he sustained in the third round from a kick, which caused a significant amount of swelling on MacDonald’s shin.
New Bellator welterweight champ @Rory_MacDonald had to fight through a nasty leg injury to dethrone Douglas Lima at #Bellator192 🤕
He limped back to his corner at the end of the round and ultimately had to be carried from the cage after the fight, but MacDonald did enough over the five rounds to win on scores of 48-47, 49-45, 49-46.
“I think I have a person growing inside of me,” MacDonald said afterwards in relation to his unusual leg injury.
Elsewhere at Bellator 192, Chael Sonnen defeated Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a battle of two MMA veterans, which kicked off Bellator’s heavyweight world grand prix tournament.
Also on the main card, former lightweight champion Michael Chandler dominated Goiti Yamauchi over three rounds (30-26, 30-26, 30-25), Aaron Pico needed just 37 seconds to see off Shane Kruchten thanks to a vicious body shot, and Henry Corrales was a unanimous-decision victor (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) against Georgi Karakhanyan.
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Rory MacDonald defies grim leg injury to be crowned Bellator champion
RORY MACDONALD NEVER got his hands on the title during his 13-fight reign with the UFC, but it’s taken him just two outings to conquer Bellator’s welterweight division.
MacDonald (20-4), who left the UFC last year to sign for their nearest rivals, scored a unanimous-decision victory over defending 170-pound champion Douglas Lima (29-7) at Bellator 192 in Inglewood, California.
The 28-year-old Canadian remains the last man to defeat current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. However, his time with the UFC ended with defeats to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and — 11 months earlier — Robbie Lawler in an epic title bout at UFC 189.
Known for his toughness and resolve, MacDonald was victorious against Lima after overcoming a broken nose and a grim leg injury he sustained in the third round from a kick, which caused a significant amount of swelling on MacDonald’s shin.
He limped back to his corner at the end of the round and ultimately had to be carried from the cage after the fight, but MacDonald did enough over the five rounds to win on scores of 48-47, 49-45, 49-46.
“I think I have a person growing inside of me,” MacDonald said afterwards in relation to his unusual leg injury.
Elsewhere at Bellator 192, Chael Sonnen defeated Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in a battle of two MMA veterans, which kicked off Bellator’s heavyweight world grand prix tournament.
Also on the main card, former lightweight champion Michael Chandler dominated Goiti Yamauchi over three rounds (30-26, 30-26, 30-25), Aaron Pico needed just 37 seconds to see off Shane Kruchten thanks to a vicious body shot, and Henry Corrales was a unanimous-decision victor (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) against Georgi Karakhanyan.
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Bellator Bellator 192 Douglas Lima MMA Rory MacDonald The Red King