Rory MacDonald made a successful promotional debut at Bellator 179, when he submitted Paul Daley with a rear naked choke in the second round of their fight.
Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima is defending the gold against UFC veteran Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 180 and according to MacDonald, the fight is a pick’em at best.
“It’s a hard fight to call,” MacDonald told MMA Junkie. “Those guys are closely matched. Larkin is an extremely good kickboxer, and he’s tough and very athletic. He’s not easy to keep on his back. Lima is a big guy, powerful and very disciplined. Whoever is on that night should take it.”
MacDonald will get a shot at whomever wins that fight due to his aforementioned victory over Daley.
No matter who wins the fight between Lima and Larkin, the Canadian feels that he is the best welterweight in the world right now.
“I think I’m the best in the world,” MacDonald said. “Lima had a pretty hard fight with Daley. I went out there, and I smoked him in every discipline. It was a message that I’m on another level, and these guys are going to have a lot of pain to deal with if they get in the cage with me.”
The fighter did challenge for the UFC Welterweight Title at one point in his career, but he came up short against then champion Robbie Lawler.
