Rory MacDonald: Iā€™m The Best In The World

Rory MacDonald

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory ā€œRed 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 ā€œSemtexā€ Daley in the main event of Bellator 179.

There wasnā€™t too much tension between the two leading up to the bout, although Daley did question MacDonaldā€™s ā€˜warrior mentalityā€™. The ā€œRed Kingā€, however, feels as if he made Daly eat his words:

ā€œI finished him,ā€ MacDonald told MMAJunkie.com. ā€œHeā€™s the one that tapped out, so I guess, whoā€™s the quitter now, right? This is mixed martial arts. When I see an opening Iā€™m going to strike, whether itā€™s 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. Thereā€™s 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 heā€™s the ā€˜best in the worldā€™ and heā€™s ready to prove that inside the Bellator cage:

ā€œI think Iā€™m the best in the world, and I think I made a statement tonight,ā€ MacDonald said. ā€œ(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 Iā€™m 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.

ā€œIā€™m going to destroy when I get in the cage. Iā€™m not there to play games or pick my shots or win (on) points. I had a couple fights like that, but Iā€™ve always had regrets leaving those fights. When I walk into those doors now Iā€™m going to destroy you, and thatā€™s it.ā€

Were you impressed with MacDonaldā€™s performance last night and do you expect him to take over Bellatorā€™s 170-pound division?