No. 3 UFC Welterweight contender Rory MacDonald has been released from the UFC and has now signed a contract with Bellator MMA. The news was first broke by Flocombat.com and has been confirmed by other sources since. The 26 -year Canadian will join the likes of UFC veterans like Benson Henderson, Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar, Ken Shamrock, and Royce Gracie who now work for Bellator.
MacDonald has a MMA record of 18-4, and UFC record of 9-4. MacDonald’s most notable fight was the Welterweight Title Fight against Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 in July 15. MacDonald lost via TKO due to a shattered nose in the 5th round, but was still praised for his performance in a fight that was awarded “Fight of The Year.”
MacDonald since then has trouble preventing broken noses in training, and was broken again is his next next fight with Stephen Thompson. The pair fought at UFC Fight Night 89 in June 2016, where Thompson won via unanimous decision. MacDonald will likely challenge Bellator Welterweight Champ Andrey Koreschkov for the 170 lb. title. Koreschkov defeated former UFC Lightweight Champ Benson Henderson in previous fight, where he won every round on the judges’ scorecards.