Bellator 179 - Rory MacDonald vs Paul Daley

Date: Friday 19th May 2017 

Location: London, England

Venue: SSE Arena

Bellator 179 took a massive blow when Michael Page had to withdraw from the co-main event with Derek Anderson due to a knee injury. The showman, Page, is a huge fan-favourite not only in his home nation of England but the whole MMA world, and the fans will be gutted not to see him fight in London. However, Bellator have packed this card out with great fights with some of England’s best fighters, and none more so than Paul Daley who welcomes Rory MacDonald for his Bellator debut. 

Daley is one of Bellator’s most prized possessions and rightly so. He is one of the most entertaining and experienced fighters on the roster and if it wasn’t for a mindless punch thrown to Josh Koscheck after the bell went in their fight back in 2010, he would still be competing in the UFC. Daley knocks out competition for fun with savage Muay Thai and an absolute canon of a left hand. Five straight wins led to a shot at the current champion Douglas Lima, in which he lost via a decision. Looking to bounce back in his next fight he took on Brennan Ward and spectacularly knocked him out with a flying knee. He then proceeded to call out MacDonald in which the winner will get a chance to fight Douglas Lima.

This call-out took courage. MacDonald left the UFC as a top ranked fighter who had recently fought for the UFC welterweight belt. He has a wealth of experience against some of the best welterweights in the world and at only 27 years of age, he has not even reached his prime. Daley, however, is confident of notching up knock-out number 30. Confidence aside, this will be his toughest test to date. MacDonald is one of the most talented and well-rounded welterweights in the world and contrastingly enters his bouts with methodical precision. He unnervingly seeks every weakness in an opponent but also has the skill to face their strengths head on, so it could be all out war on 19th May. 

For a statistical breakdown of the fight and the rest of the main card, see below: