Scott Coker has set high stakes for Rory MacDonald's Bellator debut.
In a Tuesday conference call, the Bellator boss confirmed MacDonald's date with Paul Daley at Bellator 179 will determine the next challenger to the promotion's welterweight championship, which Douglas Lima will defend against Lorenz Larkin at Madison Square Garden in June.
"This fight clearly will be for the number-one contender spot, and will fight the winner of Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin in New York on June 24," Coker said, according to MMA Fighting's Dave Doyle.
MacDonald joined Bellator last summer after fighting out his UFC contract in a unanimous decision loss to Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson in June. Long touted as a world champion in the making, the 27-year-old fell short in his only UFC title bout, losing to then-champion Robbie Lawler by fifth-round TKO in a classic battle at UFC 189.
The 33-year-old Daley is coming off a brutal first-round knockout of Brennan Ward at Bellator 170, and takes a promotional record of 4-1 into his date with MacDonald. His sole loss under the Bellator banner came at Lima's hands last summer, and he did little to hide his hopes of avenging the defeat - with the title on the line - during Tuesday's conference call.
"I hold Lima above Rory," Daley said. "I don’t think there’s a bigger, more athletic, scarier welterweight out there at the moment. Me and my team, we believe that we can defeat Douglas Lima over five rounds. Not looking past Rory, but yeah, we want the shot at Lima. I feel if I’m more composed, I feel if I don’t rush out in the first 30 seconds like last time, I think over five rounds I defeat Lima."
MacDonald and Daley will meet in the main event of Bellator 179 on May 19 at the SSE Arena in London.
