Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is now scheduled for not just one, but two fights. Speaking in a recent interview, the “Red King” has now come forward with a few words on the matter.
Rory MacDonald is currently set to make his middleweight debut against reigning division champion Gegard Mousasi in a champion vs. champion super fight between two former UFC competitors. The highly anticipated match up will take place Sept. 29 at Bellator 206 from within the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
In early 2019, Rory MacDonald will then defend his welterweight title in a match up against Jon Fitch for one of the opening bouts of Bellator’s upcoming welterweight tournament grand prix. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Rory MacDonald has now come forward with a few words about the intense days ahead of him.
“If anything, it’s kind of cool. It’s actually great, I love it. I don’t know, it’s just exciting to know that I’m not going to have to be waiting on the shelf for any reason. I have something to look forward to after this now, so I get to plan bit ahead, which is kind of rare in my career. I’m going with the flow always in my life because I never know what’s going on, say, six months down the road.
“But the way this year is stacking up, it’s going to be the biggest year of my career, so everything’s coming together. God answered my prayers and I’m so excited for what’s going to happen over the tournament and this middleweight championship. It’s a dream come true. Everything’s coming together.
“It’s exactly what I was hoping for in my transition to Bellator.”
“I’m a little heavier than I was the last couple years. Because between my last fight and this training camp, I tried to put some size on with just eating and doing a lot more power lifting. But I’m walking around 195 and I still am going to trim down even more as the fight gets closer. But I’m really very close to the weight.
“I get to eat more [for this camp], so that’s nice. It’s one less thing, right? So that’s been a plus, that’s been a pleasure, but I’m also sparring with bigger guys more regularly. So I’ve been sparring with some light heavyweights, middleweights, and that’s been a fun experience. I used to spar with them, but now I’m just very much on a regular basis trying to go with the bigger guys as much as I can.”
“I love what I do. I also like to get paid, more on the regular. My last few years in the sport have been like one fight a year and that’s been frustrating. I don’t know, I just feel like I’m really hitting my stride the couple of years and I want to express that in the cage. I don’t want just use that all up in the gym. I want to showcase that on the main stage. I guess that’s why right now I’m really trying to get as many big fights as I can.”
