SAN JOSE, Calif. – Neiman Gracie doesn’t understand Rory MacDonald’s position after the Bellator welterweight champion put question marks around his future following his fight with Jon Fitch.
After fighting to a majority draw against Fitch (32-7-2 MMA, 1-0-1 BMMA) in the Bellator 220 headliner on Saturday night, MacDonald (20-5-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA) said he’s struggling with the mindset needed for MMA when it comes to inflicting damage on another person. MacDonald, who was credited with a title defense despite not getting the win, indicated that jumping into another fight is not his top priority.
That conflicts with ongoing plans, though, as the fight with Fitch was an opening-round matchup in the Bellator welterweight grand prix. Just seconds after MacDonald made his revelation, he was immediately forced into a face-off with Gracie (9-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who the promotion said he’ll fight at Bellator 222 on June 14.
A layer of doubt lingers over whether the fight will materialize on that timeline, but from Gracie’s perspective, he can’t justify MacDonald’s comments.
“It’s up to him (whether he wants to fight),” Gracie told MMA Junkie post-fight at Bellator 220. “I think he still wants to hurt people. I saw him trying to hurt Fitch pretty bad tonight. I think it’s bull(expletive).”
Gracie doesn’t believe the current situation should even be happening since he scored the fight for Fitch. He said he had the challenger winning the first, third, fourth and fifth rounds, and only gave MacDonald the nod in the second.
Ultimately the judges deemed it a draw. And because of that, MacDonald advances in the tournament. Assuming the fight does happen, Gracie said he sees a lot of flaws in the champion.
“Fitch showed how to beat him, I think, and I’m different than Fitch is,” Gracie said. “If I take someone down I’m not going to stall in someone’s guard. I will go for the finish, and I will get a good position, and I will finish the fight on the floor. That’s the difference.”
Going forward, Gracie said he will wait to see where MacDonald stands on his fighting future and whether he will be prepared to compete in just seven weeks at Bellator 220. He hopes it happens, though, because he wants the belt.
“I’m waiting for Rory now, and I’ll be ready,” Gracie said. “It’s not up to me. I hope he is (ready June 14). He’s the champion. I want to fight for the belt, so I hope he’s ready because I will be.”
For complete coverage of Bellator 220, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
