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The disappearance of Rory MacDonald's fighting spirit seems to have been greatly exaggerated.
The Bellator's 170-pound champion defended his title and qualified for the World Welterweight Grand Prix final with an impressive unanimous decision against previously undefeated Neiman Gracie in the Bellator 222's main event at Madison Square Garden New York.
"I feel pretty good – it's such an honor to be able to participate in such an arena in New York," said MacDonald. "I feel really lucky to have come here in my career here to fight for a world championship at Madison Square Garden."
MacDonald (21-5-1), who openly asked if he still had the guts to keep fighting after his disappointing draw with Jon Fitch in April, won the judges' scores 49-46 and 48- 47 (twice). He faces former champion Douglas Lima, whom MacDonald defeated in a five-round thriller in 2018, in the grand prix final for the million-dollar prize.
"It's a problem, but I look forward to it because it was a close fight [the first time,]"MacDonald said." I'm not surprised to meet him in the final. He's a real fighter and a gentleman and it's an honor to compete with a guy like that. "
After siding with MacDonald following a unanimous decision at Bellator 192, Lima (31-7) was re-elected to submit former champion Andrey Koreshkov to his September trilogy before defeating Michael Page in May to qualify for the final.
"It's what we expect, it's the revenge I was expecting," Lima said. "You can see why Rory is the champion because he is a warrior."
Gracie (9-1), a fourth-generation member of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu family and nephew of legend Renzo Gracie, has not been able to submit MacDonald despite multiple attempts in five rounds. Not only was the Champion's submission defense at an elite level, but he dominated the fight in a standing position by regularly landing straight hands that swelled Gracie's eyes.
MacDonald showed a good takedown defense and was patient every time Gracie turned back on the floor to attempt a series of armbands and leg locks. MacDonald also suffered significant damage from the first position each time he was able to cram Gracie out and force the Brazilian into the back.
Although Gracie managed to defeat MacDonald early in Turn 5, he never attempted to win anything remarkable in terms of hitting and could not rally for a spectacular end.
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Bellator 222, results
Rory MacDonald (c) def. Neiman Gracie by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Lyoto Machida def. Chael Sonnen via second round TKO (punches)
Dillon Danis def. Max Humphrey via the submission of the first round (armbar)
Patrick Mix def. Ricky Bandejas via the first round of submission (naked starter)
Juan Archuleta def. Eduardo Dantas via KO second round (punch)
Kyoji Horiguchi (c) def. Darrion Caldwell (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
Adam Borics def. Aaron Pico via second round TKO (knee)
Bellator 222 updates, highlights
Thank you for being past.
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