Former UFC title contender Michael McDonald signs with Bellator MMA

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TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Former UFC interim bantamweight title challenger Michael McDonald has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.

Bellator officials informed ESPN of the signing Friday. A date has not yet been set for McDonald's promotional debut.

The signing comes one week after the 26-year-old McDonald parted ways with the UFC. HIs departure was unique in that he still had multiple fights on his deal, but both sides agreed to terminate the contract.

McDonald (17-4) told ESPN in a recent interview that he does not hold any ill will towards the UFC, whom he fought for since 2011 but had become frustrated over recent business negotiations.

Fighting out of Modesto, California, McDonald debuted with the UFC in 2011 as a 20-year-old prospect. He foughtRenan Barao for the interim 135-pound championship in 2013, losing via submission.

Hand and wrist injuries sidelined McDonald during all of 2014 and 2015. He fought twice in 2016, and is coming off a loss to John Lineker in July.

McDonald joins a Bellator bantamweight division that features current titleholderEduardo Dantas (19-4), Joe Warren (14-6) and Darrion Caldwell (10-1).


Full story here:
Michael McDonald
 
Clappin'Daddys

Clappin'Daddys

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Sep 9, 2015
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Fairly obvious signing. McDonald is a young talent in a division that needs talent. I like it very much.

Give him Warren; passing of the torch for sure.

Duffy will be the next to jump ship. I'm fairly confident with that prediction. Then maybe mousasi. Heard he is on his last fight.

Mw is getting shafted BAD in the UFC. Legit contenders are lining up, yet UFC is letting people cut in line. Jacare, Romero, the moose. All guys that could be fighting for the belt.

Exciting times for Mma
 
TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Clappin'Daddys said:
Fairly obvious signing. McDonald is a young talent in a division that needs talent. I like it very much.

Give him Warren; passing of the torch for sure.

Duffy will be the next to jump ship. I'm fairly confident with that prediction. Then maybe mousasi. Heard he is on his last fight.

Mw is getting shafted BAD in the UFC. Legit contenders are lining up, yet UFC is letting people cut in line. Jacare, Romero, the moose. All guys that could be fighting for the belt.

Exciting times for Mma
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Duffy, and I feel as soon as he's able to, Werdum will sign with Bellator.

Would LOVE to see Jacare come over too. Jacare vs Rafael Lovato Jr. Make them start on the ground :)
 
nuraknu

nuraknu

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Jul 20, 2016
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So happy for Michael McDonald. He deserves to move on. The story he told Okamoto was great - about Sean Shelby admitting he was just trying hard negotiation tactics. I love that McDonald walked away. I am so excited for him to move on with his life with Bellator. So glad he got snapped up right away, and they didn't mess around.
 
M

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Another great grab by Bellator. The thing is that most UFC zombies say "oh well this guy couldn't cut it in the UFC"... Some guys yes, but a lot of times, with the amount of fighters the UFC has, they can't promote a fighter the way they should.

McDonald is a top 10 fighter... He had a bad go, but his skill sets make him a tough fight for sure, he can go on a title run in Bellator.
 
Andrewsimar Palhardass

Andrewsimar Palhardass

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Rhino said:
Another great grab by Bellator. The thing is that most UFC zombies say "oh well this guy couldn't cut it in the UFC"... Some guys yes, but a lot of times, with the amount of fighters the UFC has, they can't promote a fighter the way they should.

McDonald is a top 10 fighter... He had a bad go, but his skill sets make him a tough fight for sure, he can go on a title run in Bellator.
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They're getting legit fighters now. It's great to see. When the UFC lets guys like Rory and Larkin go you know the tides are changing.
 
TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Andrewsimar Palhardass said:
You really think so? I would have guessed that Werdum would stick around in the UFC. Jacare too. Maybe since they're getting up there in age Bellator might be a good fit for them, though.
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Werdum hates the reebok deal, has a good working relationship with Cokef from hos Strikeforce days, and could get a rematch with Fedor (something he's said in the past that he would love to have).

Jacare keeps getting passed over- I think eventually he'll have enough.
 
TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Rhino said:
Another great grab by Bellator. The thing is that most UFC zombies say "oh well this guy couldn't cut it in the UFC"...
Click to expand...
He was 6-3 in the UFC. He lost to Renam Barao (champion), Urijah Faber (hall of famer), and John Lineker (overweight punch demon). He's only 26.

So they can say that, but they're wrong.
 
M

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TheEmperorRises said:
He was 6-3 in the UFC. He lost to Renam Barao (champion), Urijah Faber (hall of famer), and John Lineker (overweight punch demon). He's only 26.

So they can say that, but they're wrong.
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Never stopped them before LOL
 
Chromium

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This is a really fucking solid signing. At Bantamweight in Bellator you got Dantas, Caldwell, Warren, Taimanglo, Galvao, now McDonald. That's a pretty damn formidable bunch right there. Marlon Moraes is still a free agent fielding offers, so there's a chance they could get him too.

I really hope that this is a sign that Viacom has raised Bellator's budget. I'm sure McDonald isn't gonna be the last highly ranked marketable fighter that the UFC loses in the next few months.
 
TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Chromium said:
This is a really fucking solid signing. At Bantamweight in Bellator you got Dantas, Caldwell, Warren, Taimanglo, Galvao, now McDonald. That's a pretty damn formidable bunch right there. Marlon Moraes is still a free agent fielding offers, so there's a chance they could get him too.

I really hope that this is a sign that Viacom has raised Bellator's budget. I'm sure McDonald isn't gonna be the last highly ranked marketable fighter that the UFC loses in the next few months.
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Signing Moraes would be the shit.
 
regular john

regular john

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Great news. I just love the idea of Bellator adding depth to their divisions. Doesn't matter if it's a champion or not, they just need to add quality top ten fighters to stop the squash matches and the endless rematches for titles.
 
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