Douglas Lima ‘Definitely Surprised’ Rory MacDonald Left Bellator for PFL

Not all that long ago, Rory MacDonald was Bellator MMA’s prized free-agent acquisition.

Two years, six fights and one brief title reign later, MacDonald has moved on, signing with the Professional Fighters League in hopes of pursuing the promotion’s $1 million prize awarded to its champions in six different weight classes. Exactly when “The Red King” will be able to pursue that goal is unclear, as the PFL has suspended its season format until 2021 due to ongoing coronavirus concerns, with select fighters receiving a monthly stipend while the organization is on hiatus.

Perhaps the most memorable part of MacDonald’s Bellator tenure was his two championship fights with Douglas Lima. MacDonald was able to claim 170-pound gold with a closely-contested five-round verdict over Lima at Bellator 192 in January 2018. The two men made their way through the California-based promotion’s welterweight grand prix to set up a rematch at Bellator 232, which Lima won in another hard-fought, five-round battle.

There would be no trilogy, however, as that turned out to be MacDonald’s final Bellator appearance. Lima has mixed emotions regarding his rival’s departure. On one hand, he wants the closure a trilogy might provide, and on the other, he hopes to see the Canadian thrive in his new home.

“It would be good to have that trilogy. I was definitely very surprised,” Lima told Sherdog.com. “I never thought he would leave for PFL. It is what it is. He’s looking out for himself. We had two great battles and I’m thankful to him for those fights, for those really good learning experiences.

“Let’s see what happens. I was actually looking forward to see him fight in the PFL, but [the season] got canceled. I’m just happy for him that he moved on. I’ve got other guys to fight. It doesn’t really matter.”

It’s possible that Lima will be able to compete before his former foe. While Bellator has postponed all events through June, it is exploring the possibility of resuming its schedule in the coming months. Lima was slated to square off against Gegard Mousasi for the vacant middleweight crown on May 9 in San Jose, California, before the pandemic hit.

While Lima expects to be rebooked for that matchup down the road, he wasn’t able to learn much from MacDonald’s attempt to claim middleweight gold, when he suffered a lopsided second-round TKO defeat to Mousasi in September 2018.

“That was an off night for him,” Lima said of MacDonald. “That’s what I feel like, that he wasn’t the same. Mousasi was really on that night, and he really used his size, his range. He looked amazing on that fight. Rory was just a little bit off of himself. I don’t take anything from that fight.

“But I definitely watched the other ones [with Mousasi]. His fight against [Rafael] Lovato was a really good one, a close decision. I actually have been watching him for a long time, he’s been in the game forever. Since I was a fan of fighting, not even fighting [myself], I used to watch Pride, Dream and stuff like that. I’m pretty familiar with his game.”