Former UFC star Rory MacDonald has admitted that he’s not been entirely happy with how things are going over at Bellator since signing with the promotion in August of 2016, with the root of the problem seemingly being that he’s not been fighting as often as he wants to.
The blame for that doesn’t land squarely on Bellator’s shoulders, as MacDonald himself opted to take an extended period of time out when he first signed for the promotion in order to fully heal from a repeatedly broken nose.
That meant that he didn’t make his debut until May of this year, where he put together a convincing victory over Paul Daley in London, submitting him with a rear-naked choke in the second round.
After that MacDonald envisaged a quick return to action for a title fight with current welterweight champion Douglas Lima, but it’s not quite worked out like that as it’s not going to happen until January of next year.
“I’ve expressed my disappointment with Bellator,” MacDonald stated in an interview with MMAjunkie. “I had some conversations with (Bellator President) Scott Coker expressing that. I’m not the type of fighter that needs to be sidelined and fight once a year. I need to be kept busy. I think he knows now. I think he wants to improve on that in 2018 and keep me more busy. I’m waiting. We’ll see. I hope that I’ll get at least three fights in during 2018.”
MacDonald had become used to a certain level of treatment in the UFC, having spent most of his career there since he was just 20-years-old, but over in Bellator he’s had to adjust to the fact that things work a little differently.
“It’s been a slow process with Bellator. I think their organization is – they’re a little bit scattered. It’s a small staff, and things like that. But they’re doing the best they can.”
Nevertheless, the now 28-year-old MacDonald is still optimistic that things are on the verge of moving in the right direction.
“I’m sure 2018 we’ll get that ball rolling. Once I’m the champion, I think that creates more excitement going into Canada, going in as the champion. It’s more meaningful to promote a fight up there having a Canadian champion. We’ll see what happens.”
