Whatever remaining reservations
Bellator
MMA may have had in regards to the signing of
Rory
MacDonald have likely been alleviated.
MacDonald chewed up and spit out
Paul Daley in
the
Bellator 179 main event on Friday at the SSE Arena in London,
as he tapped the former Cage Rage champion with a second-round
rear-naked choke. Daley bowed out 1:45 into Round 2, submitting for
the first time since
Jake Shields
subdued him with an armbar on Oct. 4, 2008.
It was never competitive. MacDonald executed a single-leg takedown
inside the first 30 seconds and spent the rest of the opening round
in top position, applying his ground-and-pound and searching for
holes in the Brit’s defenses. Round two brought more of the same.
MacDonald ducked under punches, secured another takedown and landed
in side control. Short punches, elbows and forearm strikes followed
created a lane for the Canadian, who moved to the back and cinched
the choke for the quick tapout.
In the aftermath of Bellator 179, here are four matches that ought
to be made:
MacDonald infused even more life into Bellator’s already potent
welterweight division in what was a flawless promotional debut. The
27-year-old
Tristar Gym star thrashed and throttled Daley in less than
seven minutes, establishing himself as an instant contender for
promotional gold at 170 pounds. In the process, he snapped a
two-fight losing streak and calmed some of the concerns surrounding
the mileage he had accumulated in attritive battles with
Robbie
Lawler and
Stephen
Thompson. Lima will defend his Bellator welterweight
championship against Larkin at Bellator 180 on June 24 in New
York.
Outclassed and overmatched, Daley had nothing to offer MacDonald.
Still, the loss -- it was largely expected -- did little to damage
his stock and “Semtex” was quick to shift gears afterward. The
33-year-old turned his attention to Page, the undefeated karateka
who was penciled in to face
Derek
Anderson at the event before an injury forced him off the card.
It was a wise strategic move for Daley, who has lost twice in his
past three appearances. Page last fought at Bellator 165 on Nov.
19, when he moved to 12-0 with a three-round split decision over
Fernando
Gonzalez at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Vassell recorded the most significant victory of his 24-fight
career, as he submitted former champion
Liam
McGeary with a third-round arm-triangle choke in the co-main
event. The 33-year-old has pieced together a three-fight winning
streak since his September 2015 defeat to onetime
Strikeforce
titleholder Muhammad Lawal, besting McGeary,
Francis
Carmont and
Emanuel
Newton in succession. Vassell now owns a 7-2 mark under the
Bellator flag and has become one of the organization’s most
reliable competitors at 205 pounds. Davis will defend his light
heavyweight championship against Bader at
Bellator
180 in June.
Though he did nothing to endear himself to the audience, Kongo
nevertheless got the job done in a split decision over the
previously unbeaten
Augusto
Sakai in a plodding three-round heavyweight showcase. The
42-year-old Frenchman has won nine of his 11 bouts since signing
with Bellator in 2013, decision losses to the aforementioned Lawal
and
Vitaly
Minakov the only missteps. Kongo will carry a run of five
straight wins -- the longest such streak of his career -- into his
next appearance. Lashley, meanwhile, finds himself on an
eight-fight winning streak. The former World Wrestling
Entertainment superstar has not competed since he submitted
Josh
Appelt with a second-round rear-naked choke at Bellator 162 in
October.
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