Kelowna’s MacDonald bringing home Bellator belt
Toshido MMA product crowned welterweight champ with decision win in L.A.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Chael Sonnen overcame a significant weight disadvantage for a unanimous-decision win over Rampage Jackson in the opening fight of Bellator’s Heavyweight World Grand Prix on Saturday night.
Rory MacDonald also took the welterweight title from Douglas Lima, overcoming grotesque injuries to his left leg and nose to claim a unanimous decision at Bellator 192.
Sonnen (30-15-1), the loquacious former UFC middleweight title contender, was outweighed by 31 pounds on the scales Friday. He still used his superior wrestling skills and tenacity to grind out a decision over Jackson (37-13), the former UFC champion, before a lively crowd at the famed Forum.
Jackson tossed Sonnen dramatically onto the canvas during the first round, but the veteran brawler struggled to create any more highlights. A frustrated Rampage tapped the mat in front of him in the third round, daring Sonnen to stand and bang.
Instead, Sonnen took him down again and finished a 29-28 decision on all three judges’ scorecards.
The 39-year-old Jackson’s first career meeting with the 40-year-old Sonnen was the first bout in an eight-man tournament designed to crown Bellator’s first heavyweight champion since 2016. The field also includes MMA luminaries Fedor Emelianenko, Frank Mir, Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione, along with undersized veteran fighters Ryan Bader and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
Sonnen will fight the winner of Emelianenko’s upcoming bout with Mir in the tournament semifinals in early summer.
MacDonald (20-4) has been ticketed for Bellator stardom ever since he left the UFC and joined its biggest rival in 2016 following backto-back losses to Robbie Lawler and Stephen Thompson. MacDonald, who beat current UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley in 2014, is likely the best pound-for-pound fighter on the Bellator roster, and he intends to hold the promotion’s titles in multiple weight divisions.
“He’s the best fighter I ever fought,” MacDonald said of Lima. “I feel like we’re the best two welterweights in the sport.”
The title bout was remarkably even, with MacDonald controlling much of the action on the ground when Lima (29-7) wasn’t peppering his oft-injured nose with jabs. MacDonald developed a huge welt on his shin midway through the fight, but it didn’t appear to limit his movement.
Lima knocked down MacDonald with a sweeping kick in the third round and appeared to be close to finishing early in the fourth, but MacDonald persevered. MacDonald dominated the fifth round on the ground and cut Lima near his eyes.
MacDonald eventually had his hand raised to the displeasure of Lima, a Brazilian fighting out of Atlanta. MacDonald was carried out of the cage and transported to a hospital as a precaution.
“I think I have a person growing inside me,” MacDonald said of his leg injury.
Meanwhile at UFC 220 in Boston, Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier defended their heavyweight and light-heavyweight titles over Francis Ngannou and Volkan Oezdemir.