Rory MacDonald shares ideal opponent for Bellator Welterweight GP Final

Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is going to have a busy 2019. The champion is a combatant in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, and his title will be up for grabs in every one of his Grand Prix matchups, starting with his upcoming first-round showdown with Jon Fitch.

If all goes according to plan, of course, MacDonald will make it to the tournament finale, and emerge unscathed with the belt still slung over his shoulder.

This week, Rory MacDonald divulged which of his tournament rivals he’d like to meet in the tournament final. Apparently, he’s hoping for a tournament-deciding collision with undefeated British star Michael “Venom” Page — otherwise known as MVP.

“I would like to (fight him) because I have already fought Paul Daley and beat him. I have already fought Douglas Lima and beat him,” MacDonald told the McDojo Show (transcript via MMAjunkie). “If there’s one guy left on the other side of the bracket that’s still in it, I would like to fight ‘MVP,’ but may the best man win.”

While Rory MacDonald is one of the clear favorites to win this tournament, he’ll actually entering it riding a loss, having recently come up short in a middleweight title fight with Gegard Mousasi.

In the same interview, MacDonald divulged that this loss has deterred him from making any other moves to middleweight for the moment. For now,he’s focused on his duties as the Bellator welterweight king.

“I think my focus was off during training camp,” MacDonald said. “I just didn’t prepare myself, both physically and mentally. I just was a bit lazy, got a bit comfortable and didn’t give it the respect it deserved for that situation.

“Because I got absolutely destroyed in that fight, I’m not really thinking about middleweight anytime soon. So I’m going to focus on welterweight and see what happens after that.”

Do you think we’ll see Rory MacDonald battling Michael Page in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix final?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/8/2019.