Bellators welterviktsmästare Rory MacDonald mötte under helgen Jon Fitch på Bellator 220 i San Jose i Kalifornien, där mötet slutade oavgjort. MacDonald och den andra mästaren Ilima-Lei Macfarlane fick båda behålla sina bälten, vilket skapade en del missnöje bland fansen.
MacDonald var efter mötet öppen med att han innan matchen inte varit säker på om han hade samma kämpaglöd som tidigare.
I feel like God has really called me the last little while and, I don’t know. He’s changed my spirit, changed my heart and it takes a certain spirit to come in here and put a man through pain and stuff and I don’t know if I have that same drive to hurt people anymore. I don’t know what it is but it’s confusing. I know the Lord has something in store for me, he was speaking to me in here tonight and, I don’t know, it’s a different feeling.
I have to get out of here and reevaluate. We’ll see what happens. Tonight was a mix of emotions in here. I landed some good stuff but there was something different.
Många tog detta som att MacDonald kan vara på väg mot pension. Enligt tränaren Firas Zahabi är detta sannolikt inte fallet, utan en del av en fas som McDonald just nu genomgår på grund av sitt nya familjeliv och att han mognar.
Via ’MMAFighting’:
He’s a family man now. He has another kid on the way, he’s maturing. I think he understands the realities of fighting a little bit better. He’s seen the dark side of fighting, he’s seen the good side, the bad side, and that’s what concerns me as a coach. For me, fighting is always safety first. The way we train, the way we spar, I never put their health at risk.
When you’re younger and you don’t have a family, all you do is worry about yourself and you’re more of a cowboy, you’re more of a risk taker, but as you mature you start to understand the importance of your health and other people’s health as well. Especially when you have a family, I feel like it’s normal to have that kind of outlook.
Zahabi har tränat den kanadensiske fightern MacDonald nästan 10 års tid. Efter förlusten mot Carlos Condit under UFC 115 började MacDonald träna på TriStar.
Om MacDonald vill gå i pension kommer Zahabi att stödja det, men han tror inte att det kommer att ske på ett tag.
A lot of fighters go through these kinds of things,” Zahabi said. “He’s not the first guy to see both sides of fighting – the good part, the darker part – and then kind of come to these realizations. So I wasn’t surprised. I’ve heard him talk about it publicly, I’ve seen the headlines. We have talked. I know him so well – I watched him grow up in my gym – so I see what’s going on with him. I see the direction that he’s taking and it’s up to him. It’s his decision, it’s his life, it’s his career.
I think the pendulum always swings the other way as well. He’s gonna feel that way now and then tomorrow he may get over it and then he might feel that way again. It’s normal to have mixed feelings. He’s still in a $1 million tournament. He still has fights booked. These are normal emotions, especially after a fight. You’re so full of emotions right after a fight like that. So I think he was just being honest but again, the pendulum might swing the other way. He might wake up today be like, ‘You know what, let’s do this. Let’s fight. Let’s continue.’ And I think that’s what’s going to happen.
The kid’s a natural-born fighter, and I feel like he’s going to continue on his journey.
Den 29-årige MacDonald har idag ett record på sammanlagt 20 vinster och 5 förluster.
