Paul Daley Vs Rory Macdonald Odds
Rory MacDonald will defend his Bellator welterweight title against former WSOF welterweight king John Fitch in a five-round showdown that will headline Bellator 220 on April 27, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Prior to each Bellator fight card, Jay Primetown takes a look at some of the key contests at each event. In the latest installment, we look at the main event of Bellator 179 as Rory MacDonald makes his long anticipated Bellator debut against Paul Daley.
The bout will also form part of the first round of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. MacDonald is coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi while Fitch is fresh off a successful Bellator debut where he decisioned Paul Daley. Read our MMA betting tips before you bet on Bellator 220.
The GSP Protege
The Red King stands 6-0 and has a reach of 76.5 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. MacDonald has a record of 20-5 with seven wins by knockout and seven victories via submission. The 29-year old Montreal, Quebec, Canada native is a complete fighter with background in boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wrestling.
- Rory Macdonald betting odds history. UFC/MMA odds comparison service. Compare the latest UFC/MMA fight odds and betting lines from the top online sportsbooks. Paul Daley +225 +260. +331: May 19th 2017: UFC Fight Night 89: MacDonald vs. Thompson Jun 18th 2016: Rory Macdonald-150.
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- Paul Daley betting odds history. UFC/MMA odds comparison service. Compare the latest UFC/MMA fight odds and betting lines from the top online sportsbooks.
Rory MacDonald was the protege of former UFC great and Canadian superstar Georges St. Pierre. MacDonald trained and developed with GSP at the famed Tristar Gym in Canada. He is only 29 years old but already has the resume of a grizzled veteran. Macdonald fought Robbie Lawler for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 189 in a fight that would become the 2015 Fight of the Year. Unfortunately, he lost that bout after suffering a busted nose.
MacDonald was Bellator’s top free agent signee in 2016. He made his Bellator debut by submitting Paul Daley at Bellator 179 and then won the Bellator welterweight title by dominating Douglas Lima at Bellator 192. He challenged Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi in a super fight at Bellator 206 but was too small and got knocked out by the Dreamcatcher in two rounds.
Rory MacDonald vs Jon Fitch
MacDonald
-350
Fitch
+265
Odds from Bovada as of 4/09/19
Ex-WSOF Welterweight Champion
John Fitch is also 6-feet tall and has a reach of 74 inches and also fights as an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 31-7-1-1 with 5 knockouts and 6 submissions. The 41-year old San Jose, California native is primarily a wrestler inside the cage with his NCAA Division 1 wrestling background.
Fitch also came from the UFC and compiled a record of 14-3-1 for the then Zuffa-owned promotion. He also challenged for the UFC welterweight title in 2008, losing via unanimous decision to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 in a Fight of the Night winner. After losing to Demian Maia at UFC 156, Fitch moved to the World Series of Fighting where would make his mark.
At WSOF 30, Fitch defeated Joao Zeferino to win the vacant WSOF welterweight title in 2016. Fitch successfully defended his title against another former UFC fighter in Jake Shields at WSOF 34. He vacated the title in 2019 and signed with Bellator MMA. Fitch made his Bellator debut by defeating Paul Daley at Bellator 199 in May 2018.
Who Wins?
MacDonald is one of the best welterweight fighters in the planet. The kid learned the tricks of the trade from none other than Georges St. Pierre. But if you think GSP is boring, Rory is not and he often gets in trouble because of his aggressive style. The Red King is a very intelligent fighter who has a stiff jab and is an elite fighter in the stand up. Because he is a disciple of GSP, he’ also has an excellent take down game and there are times when he puts his opponents on the ground, at will. MacDonald can win in many ways: He can knock you out in the stand up of he can submit you on the ground.
Fitch meanwhile is one of the most accomplished welterweight fighters of this era and is known for his elite wrestling ability. He also has a BJJ black belt so you know Fitch is going to be tough to grapple with on the mat. Other than solid wrestling though, Fitch only has a decent to good striking and the same goes with his punching power, He isn’t a knockout artist nor is he a submission expert. But with excellent cardio, he is able to take his fights to the trenches, beat his opponents with aggression and work rate and win by decision.
The main factor in this fight is Fitch not having knockout power. That’s because MacDonald is a very aggressive fighter who usually takes the fight to his opponents. The only times we saw Rory hesitate were against Lawler and Mousasi, who both have insane knockout power. Without that kind of striking, MacDonald will try to walk right through John Fitch.
Of course we know Fitch to be excellent on the ground, that’s where he thrives. But remember that Rory MacDonald grew and trained with GSP. Now that may be an overused description but remember than MacDonald beat BJJ master Demian Maia while Fitch lost to the Brazilian. I’m sure Fitch will have the edge on the ground but it’s not as much as the advantage Rory will have on their feet.
I think Fitch is a tough cookie and he’s going to hang around with the champ. But MacDonald is younger, stronger and will probably be bigger on fight night. Rory MacDonald has all the physical advantages here. He is also the more balanced fighter. I expect him to dominate John Fitch and win by unanimous decision. Prediction: Rory MacDonald by decision but I won’t be surprised if he scores an early knockout
How much is Rory Macdonald worth? The 29-year-old Canadian mma fighter has done well thus far! Most of Rory’s money comes from being a mma fighter.
One of the biggest fights on Bellator MMA's 2017 schedule goes down on Friday, as Rory MacDonald will make his promotional debut against Paul Daley at SSE Arena in London.
MacDonald is one of the most prestigious free-agency acquisitions in Bellator history. The Canadian welterweight signed a multi-fight deal last year, ending a six-year run with the UFC.
Although he's coming off back-to-back losses, MacDonald is considered one of the best welterweights in the world. He holds career wins over the UFC's current champion, Tyron Woodley, and its No. 1 contender, Demian Maia.
Bellator president Scott Coker has already announced the winner of Friday's fight will receive a title shot.
Here's everything you need to know about Bellator 179's main event on Friday, courtesy of ESPN's Cheat Sheets.
Rory MacDonald (18-4) vs. Paul Daley (39-14-2), Welterweight
Odds: MacDonald -310; Daley +255
Ahead of debut, MacDonald returns to roots, focused on strengths
Rory MacDonald has been training mixed martial arts long enough to know he'll never learn everything.
Earlier in his career, MacDonald was the poster boy of a 'new breed' of fighters -- a generation that grew up on full MMA training, rather than a single discipline.
In 2010, MacDonald joined renowned Tristar MMA in Montreal, where his technical abilities flourished under head coach Firas Zahabi. For this camp, however, MacDonald returned to his roots in British Columbia, to train under former head coach Davis Lea.
'Tristar is a world-class gym, with people coming and going all the time,' MacDonald said. 'Firas is very diligent about staying in touch with the most up-to-date techniques and he's always got new stuff evolving and new guys coming through. Sometimes, it can just be a little overwhelming with all that new information.
'You want to be good at every aspect of MMA, but there are so many avenues in each discipline -- techniques, approaches, levels of aggression -- there are so many variables that it's hard to close yourself off from the noise and focus on your own strengths.'
MacDonald will still have Zahabi in his corner, but says this camp has been very beneficial in rekindling his old style.
He didn't feel himself during his last performance, a five-round decision loss to Stephen Thompson last June. That fight proved to be MacDonald's final UFC appearance, as he signed with Bellator months later.
'I think I have an aggressive style in every aspect of MMA,' MacDonald said. 'I like to focus on coming forward and pressing the fight. I'm expecting a dominant, brutal fight on my behalf.'
With retirement potentially on horizon, Daley eyes dream fights in near future
Paul Daley believes this fight will go down as one of the biggest of his career, which is saying something for a man with 55 career appearances.
Daley, 34, says he remembers the high expectations placed on MacDonald years ago. The kid was a phenom and groomed as 'the next Georges St-Pierre.' The future star of Canadian MMA. And even though MacDonald never won a UFC title, he represents a major challenge for Daley.
'He was the next big thing for a long time,' Daley said. 'He's been ranked highly in the world for a long time, and he was always seen as the second coming of St-Pierre. I did think he was part of a new breed in the fact he's always been well-rounded, but I was never really a fan of his. He's never captured my imagination. But he's definitely one of the first guys who came up as being very well rounded.'
Daley also considers himself a well-rounded talent, even if his primary reputation centers around knockouts. As much as he looks forward to matching technique with someone like MacDonald, he also feels he doesn't have much left to prove.
Rory Macdonald Girlfriend
Currently, Daley doesn't see himself fighting beyond age 35, which means he might only have another 18 months left. For Daley, that means a focus on big fights.
'I don't want to look up at that 'Tale of the Tape' and see the number 36,' Daley said. 'I think 35 is my retirement age, and I would love to fight the big names of my era, as you see in boxing. I'm fine fighting the younger guys, as I did with Brennan Ward earlier this year. But I'd prefer to fight some of the legends of my time.
'I'd definitely like a rematch against Douglas Lima for the belt, if he's the champ. Michael Page, although I hate to mention his name because I think he's gets too much air time, has called me out. That's two big fights. Benson Henderson is a guy who came across from the UFC, and even the 155-pound champion Michael Chandler has called me out.
'A rematch against [UFC welterweight] Nick Diaz would be awesome. That would be the one, more so than any other.'
Fight breakdown
With MacDonald switching camps and talking about a return to his old form, you can't help but wonder how different his approach will be. He's not reinventing himself ... is he? Because the MacDonald we've come to know in recent years would match up pretty darn well with Daley.
MacDonald knows how to fight long. The comparisons to St-Pierre never truly fit, but an efficient jab is definitely something the two have in common. MacDonald is quite accurate with that lead left and has good extension to it. He has a strong repertoire of front and leg kicks, which could work wonders against a shorter opponent in Daley, who can be a bit heavy on his lead foot. He's also good at taking the center of the cage and walking opponents to the fence, which is not where Daley wants to be on Friday.
All of this suggests Daley needs to come forward. He can't match MacDonald on the outside, nor can he allow MacDonald to corner him against the fence. That means asserting himself as the aggressor, which he's capable of doing -- but he'll want to be careful about overdoing it and opening himself up for a takedown. MacDonald's wrestling typically doesn't dictate his contests, but it is a skill he possesses.
Paul Daley Vs Rory Macdonald Odds Us Open
It's true, Daley has made recent comments about matching MacDonald's technical prowess, but the reality is that the more back-and-forth this fight is, the better it probably is for him. The bulk of his advantages lie in that midrange pocket, where he can put his hand speed and combinations to use and test MacDonald's notoriously shattered nose. The key lies in Daley's ability to get into that range on a regular basis against an intelligent, skillful opponent -- unless MacDonald truly has taken a completely different approach and intends to meet Daley in the middle and trade bombs.
Prediction: MacDonald decision