Rory MacDonald wasn't the first high-profile free agent to leave the ranks of the UFC for Bellator MMA, though he may have been the biggest. MacDonald joined the likes Benson Henderson, Phil Davis, and several others when he inked a six-fight deal with Bellator this past week, becoming the latest example in the growing trend of fighters gambling on themselves and testing their value on the open market, rather than re-signing for a contract that may be below their worth.
"Everybody's got a unique situation and I think they have to analyze their own. For me, in the position I was in, it was the smart move," MacDonald said Monday on The MMA Hour. I can't say that for everybody. Everybody is in different stages of their career, so build their brand, make a name for yourself, have good fights, put good performances on, then maybe test it out.
"I think also the tide is turning a little bit," MacDonald added. "People are more aware (about free agency). They see the opportunity, where there was no opportunity before."
MacDonald, 27, appears to be right. This year, more than any before, has seen a multitude of fighters elect to fight out the life of their UFC contracts and test free agency. Just this month alone, Lorenz Larkin and Donald Cerrone made waves when both proclaimed that UFC 202 marked the final fight of their UFC deal. Cerrone ultimately ended up being mistaken and re-signed with the UFC anyway, however Larkin picked up the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career with a first-round finish of Neil Magny and has now put himself in prime position for a raise, whether from the UFC or Bellator or elsewhere.
And while MacDonald entered free agency on a two-fight losing streak, that same strategy certainly appears to have worked out for him, as he spoke glowingly about his new Bellator deal. "The Red King" now enters a welterweight division ruled by Russian champion Andrey Koreshkov, and MacDonald has left little doubt about his intentions in Bellator moving forward: he plans to capture Koreshkov's title in his promotional debut, then shoot up to middleweight and claim the 185-pound belt held by Rafael Carvalho.
"One-hundred percent, my plans for Bellator, I'm going to fight for that 170-pound belt and I'm going to take that off Koreshkov, or however you say his name, and then I'm going up to 185 and I'm taking that too," MacDonald said. "I'm very focused on this. I want to be a two-division champion. I want to do their tournaments. I want to do the whole thing, so it's going to be an exciting time."
MacDonald said he doesn't yet have a timetable for his promotional debut, though he is eyeing a date sometime in the summer of 2017. While the wait is longer than MacDonald would like, he feels it is necessary to give the nose he shattered against Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 then re-injured against Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 89 the proper amount of time to recover.
"I want to make sure my nose is completely healed," MacDonald said. "I didn't do that last year after the Robbie fight. I just kind of was too hungry to get back in there and start punching people, and getting into sparring matches and stuff. I didn't go about it smart, so this time I've got to take the proper (approach).
"I don't know if it'll be summer, but I really have to be smart about it and I have to lay off sparring. I'm really going to tone that down in my career, in general, because I've been doing this since I was 14 years old sparring full-grown men, so I've done thousands upon thousands of rounds. I've really just got to cool that down at this point in my career."
When asked about the status of his recovery on Monday, MacDonald noted that his nose felt "great." He also complimented Thompson for the impromptu surgery "Wonderboy" performed in their fight in June.
"Actually, if you look at the pictures (of my nose) before the Stephen fight, it was crooked," MacDonald said, laughing. "Stephen actually straightened it out for me. So, thank you Stephen."
While MacDonald acknowledged that he was disappointed to leave the UFC without winning a title, he also expressed optimism for his future in Bellator and the opportunities the company is going to afford him both inside and outside the cage. And when the time comes and he is ready to return to competition, MacDonald vowed to bring a major Bellator show to his home country of Canada -- a move that would be a first for the traditionally American-based organization.
"One-hundred percent, we're coming to Canada," MacDonald said. "And like I was tweeting [Sunday], these shows are going to be big. This is going to be a legit show. You're going to go there and it's going to be an experience. You're going to be talking about it on the car ride home and the next day, saying ‘oh wow, that was an amazing show, I can't wait for the next one.'
"And I can guarantee you, I'm going to be putting on a strong fight game when I come out there for Bellator. I'm going to be dropping people like flies out there. I'm going to be coming forward and bringing the action. Without a doubt, people are going to be going crazy."