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BY ANTHONY WALKER
JUN 15, 2019
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Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.
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The Good: Answered Prayers
Crisis averted. Just when the collective MMA world was ready to hit the panic button for Rory MacDonald, the Bellator MMA welterweight champion proved to have enough of his inner violence to summon a successful defense of his title and a place in the finals of the Grand Prix. With his decision win over Neiman Gracie, he was able to preserve some of our longstanding thoughts about the hierarchy of elite fighters. Last night MacDonald proved he is still on that list.
It’s understandable why anyone would doubt what the “Red King” had left to offer. Last time we saw him, just weeks versus Jon Fitch, something seemed off. The same man who ran through former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine and neutralized recent UFC title holder Tyron Woodley struggled to get through a five-rounder with a 41-year old Jon Fitch. Even though Fitch has experienced a surprising resurgence as of late, the idea that he could bring MacDonald to a draw in 2019 still seemed rather far-fetched.
But there we were, watching Fitch control MacDonald in stretches and do enough to deadlock the judges. Perhaps the brutal loss to Gegard Mousasi in an ill-fated attempt at capturing middleweight glory had taken something away from him. When he cited his Christian faith and life as a family man dulling his appetite for violence, it seemed like a nail being lined up on top of a coffin lid. Some expected Gracie to bang a hammer into that nail but enough remained of the man formerly known as “Ares” to get his hand raised after 25 minutes.
MacDonald displayed some of the same attributes that aided in his rise through the rankings and championship status. Facing the expected hornets’ nest of submissions from a man named Gracie, MacDonald reminded us how good he is on the ground. Seamless takedown defense kept the action where he preferred it to be. But when Gracie did get the fight to the floor, he was largely shut down in a similar fashion to what Demian Maia experienced at UFC 170. Superb submission defense, position reversals and the ability to stall from the bottom kept MacDonald from falling into any traps. In addition, he was able to do enough on the feet to give Gracie resistance while trying to employ his grappling.
Read more at https://www.sherdog.com/news/articl...ly-of-Bellator-222-156721#OuSdvUe10kxp4WrE.99
