Canadian UFC star joining Bellator
Rory MacDonald — the man long considered Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heir in Canada to Georges St-Pierre — is leaving the promotion he’s called home for nearly seven years to join Bellator MMA. MacDonald, the 27-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C., heads to Bellator MMA on a multi-fight deal. UFC declined to exercise its ability to match the contract offer from Bellator, a UFC official confirmed on Wednesday. Financial terms or length of the deal with Bellator were not immediately known.
MacDonald, who turned pro at the age of 16 and made his UFC debut at the age of 20, became a free agent in June after completing the last bout on his most recent contract. He chose to not re-sign with UFC before his contract expired, electing instead to test his value on the open market.
The longtime training partner of former welterweight champion StPierre, MacDonald (18-4) nearly followed in St-Pierre’s championship footsteps in July 2015 but lost a fiveround title bout to Robbie Lawler in one of the greatest contests in UFC history. He was still ranked as the No. 1 welterweight contender when he returned to competition in June, dropping a unanimous decision to No. 2-ranked Stephen Thompson in Ottawa.
MacDonald was removed this week from UFC’s official rankings, where he was still the No. 3 contender in the welterweight division, behind champion Tyron Woodley, No. 1 contender Lawler and No. 2 contender Thompson.
Earlier this year, MacDonald said he was hoping to “find an offer somewhere, whether it be in the UFC or somewhere else, where I feel like I’m appreciated the way I feel I should be.”
MacDonald’s pay structure for the bout versus Lawler was US$59,000 to show (plus another $59,000 had he won), according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He earned another $50,000 for a fightof-the-night bonus. Lawler received the same $50,000 bonus as well as $300,000 purse ($150,000 to show and $150,000 to win).
UFC’s pay often includes undisclosed bonuses and percentages off pay-per-view revenue.
MacDonald said earlier this year that he would normally clear around $50,000 per fight after paying taxes, management and other costs. He said his agent presented UFC with a “very complex breakdown” of what they felt MacDonald should be paid in a new contract.
“The offer was very fair, in our opinion,” the fighter said. “We weren’t reaching for the stars.”
MacDonald fought 13 times for UFC since debuting with the company in January 2010, going 9-4. His losses came to Lawler (twice), Thompson and former interim welterweight titleholder Carlos Condit. His prominent wins came against Woodley, No. 4-ranked contender Demian Maia, former twodivision champion and UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn and ex-lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz, who in the past six months has headlined two of the biggest pay-per-views in UFC history against Irish superstar and featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
Bellator MMA, owned by broadcasting powerhouse Viacom and airing on Spike TV, has established itself as a successful No. 2 promotion behind UFC, promoting young talents such as Patricio (Pitbull) Freire and Michael Chandler, familiar veterans including Tito Ortiz, Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, and potential future stars such as 19-year-old wrestling phenom Aaron Pico and three-time NCAA champion Ed Ruth. MacDonald will no doubt be pushed near the top of the list to face current Bellator welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov.
MacDonald isn’t the only prominent free agent to find a new home this year. Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and popular heavyweight Matt Mitrione signed with Bellator MMA after their UFC deals expired. Going the other way, ex-Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks joined UFC this summer.