UFC veteran Rory MacDonald is preparing to face Douglas Lima for the Bellator MMA Welterweight Title this January at Bellator 192.
When it comes to the upcoming Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, the welterweight contender thinks he could be an alternate in the tournament.
“Yeah, absolutely,” he said on The MMA Hour. “I spoke to Scott Coker about it and he said that maybe they would use me as an alternate if someone gets injured, and also depending on how my fight goes with Lima, obviously. I like my chances if someone gets injured or pulls out for whatever reason.”
MacDonald isn’t the only high profile fighter who wants to be a tournament alternate, as another former UFC fighter in Shane Carwin has also thrown his name in the hat.
The Canadian fighter usually competes at welterweight, so the move to heavyweight would make him vastly undersized in the tournament.
“I know I’d be undersized going in against these guys in a tournament, so it would kind of have an old school UFC vibe. That’s always something that would be interesting. I think it would be interesting (to fight heavier opposition). Fight fans would find it interesting to see the new school MMA with a touch of the old school – the whole no weight limit thing even though I would have to make the weight,” says MacDonald.
Bellator 192 takes place on Saturday, January 20 from The Forum in Inglewood, California with Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Spike TV.
