Rory MacDonald: Iām The Best In The World
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory āRed Kingā MacDonald made his long awaited Bellator debut last night (May 19, 2017), scoring an impressive second round submission victory over British knockout artist Paul āSemtexā Daley in the main event of Bellator 179.
There wasnāt too much tension between the two leading up to the bout, although Daley did question MacDonaldās āwarrior mentalityā. The āRed Kingā, however, feels as if he made Daly eat his words:
āI finished him,ā MacDonald told MMAJunkie.com. āHeās the one that tapped out, so I guess, whoās the quitter now, right? This is mixed martial arts. When I see an opening Iām going to strike, whether itās standing or on the ground. I kicked him in the head, I beat him up standing, I took him down, I beat him up there, and I choked him out. Thereās really no area that I played it safe. I moved forward, I hunted him down, and I took him out.ā
With the win under his belt, MacDonald earned a title shot against the winner of the upcoming June 24 title bout between champion Douglas Lima and newly signed Lorenz Larkin. At just 27 years of age, the Canadian feels as if heās the ābest in the worldā and heās ready to prove that inside the Bellator cage:
āI think Iām the best in the world, and I think I made a statement tonight,ā MacDonald said. ā(Bellator welterweight champion Douglas) Lima had a pretty hard fight with Daley. I went out there, and I smoked him in every discipline. It was a message that Iām on another level, and these guys are going to have a lot of pain to deal with if they get in the cage with me.
āIām going to destroy when I get in the cage. Iām not there to play games or pick my shots or win (on) points. I had a couple fights like that, but Iāve always had regrets leaving those fights. When I walk into those doors now Iām going to destroy you, and thatās it.ā
Were you impressed with MacDonaldās performance last night and do you expect him to take over Bellatorās 170-pound division?