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Bellator Signs Rory Macdonald

Kinda sad he's gone , but dude is chasing the money , respect that .

Hope he fights Semtex
 
I'm pretty shocked UFC would let him go considering his win over Woodley.

I think it was one of two situations;

Him and the UFC accepted this was the best for him right now and left the door wide open for a return. He's incredibly young, if he storms through Bellator, UFC can re-sign him with fresh momentum and they get the joy of knowing Bellator is left with the guys he beat. Makes financial sense for both Rory and the UFC if it does play out that way. He gets paid what he's worth as a fighter, and the UFC doesn't have to do it until they think he's profitable again.

The other is what I feared, the UFC now being owned by a talent agency has cemented the shift from sport to a star-driven reality tv. The new owners probably looked at nothing but social media metrics and what he was asking for, and wouldn't even negotiate. He just doesn't have the personality you can sell out of a cage. If that's what made this happen it's essentially s statement saying "It doesn't matter how good you are if we can't sell you outside the cage". And that's fucking scary.
 
skylolow said:
Really??

Sure Rory is a great fighter. But at the same time has kind of run through the gauntlet at WW. He does zero to promote any of his fights. The UFC does an embedded or what ever feature with him and he literally does the bare minimum and it comes off as just plain boring. He comes out says I hate doing any media stuff. That is all fine but that isn't how you get paid the big $$$$$.

I like watching him fight. But he surely doesn't get me excited leading up to his fights. I've always been more excited about the match up than him fighting and most of it had to do with his opponent. In Bellator he won't have the luxury of the fighter standing across from him putting butts in the seats or eyes on the tube. I'll be very interested in seeing what ratings he pulls.
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But hes more likely to dominate over there. Build profile by being longtime champ. He is betting on himself with this contract. Good on him
 
Thought UFC would keep him but honestly its not that shocking they let him go.

Cowboy would be the one fighter I'd be completely shocked they let go, none of the others Bendo, Davis, Rory, Meathead were all that surprising.
 
SalvadorAllende said:
IIRC Rory said he would like to try 185 at some point or am I mistaken?

Bellator MW division is awful.
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I thought this to, Rory at MW could be a smart decision for Bellator, can bring money and ratings, Koreshkov have already a large list of opponents waiting at WW and Carvhallo has no-one
 
Still shaking my head over this.

Seems to me to be the type of young, exciting talent the big organization would want to keep around, especially seeing as he is Canadian. Curious of the price tag.
 
Great signing. Bellator is doing a great job of stealing name guys from the ufc.
 
The only way I can make sense of this is if Dana and company think his nose is FUBAR. People say, "Rory needs to get his nose fixed", but what can a surgeon do that wouldn't be undone by the first fist he runs into?

I think they're gambling that he's finished at the top level :(
 
TMAN29 said:
But hes more likely to dominate over there. Build profile by being longtime champ. He is betting on himself with this contract. Good on him
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I don't think its so much he is betting on himself as it is the UFC just didn't offer him the best guaranteed money. The UFC once in awhile are put in these types of situations......

1: Most common, a fighter who is boring in the cage and about avg. media skills outside the cage who has more or less run their course through the weight division and maybe getting a little long in the tooth. It's hard to capitalize on those kind of guys, you more or less got what you can out of them. Fitch and Okami fall into this.

2-: A fighter like Rory who does perform well in the cage but outside the cage the UFC can't get him to do anything to raise his stock. The fighter just doesn't want to promote and when he does its bare minimum. Rory has had his moments in the media but more or less he hates it. The UFC just can't get anything out of him. So its hard to offer fighters like this large guarantees because the only way you ever get the money out of the fighter is if he dominates and fans tune in because of that.

Guys like Conor, Chael, Rampage, Nate, Nick, Cruz, Faber, and Tito have shown how being a character outside the cage is just as important as being a great fighter. You could argue almost more. But when you combine the two you have a star and usually very quickly. All parties can maximizes the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.


P.S.: Rory draws well in Canada but the UFC more or less has the market already. So that part of it isn't very important to the UFC anymore. To Bellator its much more valuable and I think we'll see them use Rory to help the Canadian market for Bellator. Plus lets not underestimate some of the wars Rory has been and the beatings he has taking. Taking a step down in comp and making great money I'm sure is factor behind the scenes but will never be publicly admitted. Maybe on some level GSP comeback could play a role in Rory going to Bellator also.
 
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Kleinschuster said:
MVP
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MVP is the most untested out of the three listed. He has great, maybe even amazing stand up skills, but his grappling hasn't been tested much if at all. The only fights we have seen it are in his fight with Nah-Shon and the one against Cyborg. It looked decent there, but nothing to write home about. I think Rory would be able to impose his will and use his wrestling to beat both Lima and MVP. Koreshkov might give him trouble though.
 
fermaPY said:
I thought this to, Rory at MW could be a smart decision for Bellator, can bring money and ratings, Koreshkov have already a large list of opponents waiting at WW and Carvhallo has no-one
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That's a really good idea
I wan to see him vs Koreshkov though, I think Andrey can bang with him
 
Thesnake101 said:
MVP is the most untested out of the three listed. He has great, maybe even amazing stand up skills, but his grappling hasn't been tested much if at all. The only fights we have seen it are in his fight with Nah-Shon and the one against Cyborg. It looked decent there, but nothing to write home about. I think Rory would be able to impose his will and use his wrestling to beat both Lima and MVP. Koreshkov might give him trouble though.
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I agree with your mvp assessment, but I think Lima and koreshkov are two very solid match ups. Lima is much better than what he showed in his Andrey fight
 
So Rory said he wants 185 too. Interesting. Looked like egghead Lex Luthor though.
 
Thesnake101 said:
MVP is the most untested out of the three listed. He has great, maybe even amazing stand up skills, but his grappling hasn't been tested much if at all. The only fights we have seen it are in his fight with Nah-Shon and the one against Cyborg. It looked decent there, but nothing to write home about. I think Rory would be able to impose his will and use his wrestling to beat both Lima and MVP. Koreshkov might give him trouble though.
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He must reach MVP. He is so fckg fast and athletic. I think Rory might have a real problem with it. If he gets MVP to the ground he will have a good chance of winning.
 
I look forward to Rory vs. Koreshkov and Lima.

Semtex has the name value and power to make a watchable fight but we all know it would be a dud and an easy win for Rory.

Other than that, my interest ends there. I doubt MVP makes it to fighting the top dogs but Rory would beat him easily anyway.
 
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