Rory MacDonald ‘taking time off’ following Bellator 222 victory

Welterweight champion Rory MacDonald says he will be ‘taking time off’ after Bellator 222.

Bellator MMA welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is prepared to take some time off after his most recent fight against Neiman Gracie in the main event of Bellator 222.

The fight against Gracie marked the first successful title defense for MacDonald, who won the title in just his second fight under the Bellator banner at Bellator 192. Over five rounds, MacDonald dominated Gracie and was awarded the unanimous decision victory, which advanced him to the finals of the welterweight Grand Prix.

In a series of social media posts, MacDonald spoke about the fight and shed some light on what he intends to do in the upcoming months now that his next fight has already been decided.

MacDonald thanked his sponsors and his team before saying there will be a small break in competition in order to prepare for the birth of his second child.

“And a big thank you to my team, my wife and coaches who’ve always supported me and believed in me, wrote MacDonald “Looking forward to taking some time off for my sons arrival and getting back in the cage sharper than ever. Thank you all!”

MacDonald will be taking on a familiar name in former champion Douglas Lima in the finals of the Grand Prix. Lima was the man MacDonald defeated to become the new welterweight champion at the aforementioned Bellator 192, so a rematch is definitely intriguing.

Although Bellator President Scott Coker spoke about having the rematch between MacDonald and Lima happen sometime in September, MacDonald would rather come back towards the end of the year.

For Lima, waiting longer for MacDonald is not the most ideal situation, and he expressed as much in a few messages regarding the matter on Twitter.

At this time, there is no word on when exactly the fight will take place.

Bellator 222 took place on Friday, June 14, 2019, live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.