Rory MacDonald, who held the welterweight title in Bellator, has joined PFL after his recent title loss to Douglas Lima as the promotion's CEO Scott Coker showed no sign in signing the former UFC fighter.
The former Bellator Welterweight champion fought Lima despite being out of contract in October and was believed to be getting a contract extension. His move to Professional Fighters League came as a surprise after PFL’s broadcast partner at ESPN broke the news.
“[The deal with PFL] came about after a period of time, we had to give Bellator some time to give us an offer, but we never heard anything from them. So we exercised to negotiate with other companies and PFL really stepped up."
MacDonald told MMA Fighting.
“I haven’t heard anything from Bellator. It’s hard for me to say where they stand on it. No, [they didn’t make an offer]. I was a bit surprised but I think God’s hand was on this whole thing and he worked it out for my good so I’m really thankful for the Lord that he’s blessed me with this opportunity.”
MacDonald (21-6-1) previously fought in UFC has picked wins over some popular welterweights like Paul Daley, Tyron Woodley, and Demian Maia.
