MacDonald grinds out decision over Lima to claim Bellator welterweight title

Former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald defeated Douglas Lima by unanimous decision in a five-round war to claim the welterweight championship at Bellator 192 in Inglewood, Calif.

MacDonald, who once unsuccessfully challenged for the UFC welterweight title, appeared to suffer a grotesque shin injury in the third round, but gutted out a scrappy performance in the final two rounds Saturday night. The British Columbia native took so much damage throughout the bout that he needed to be carried out of the ring.

MacDonald narrowly took the first round. He maintained a dominant position over Lima against the cage and then on the ground, but did not land many significant strikes before the referee stood up both fighters in the final seconds of the frame.

In the second round, Lima and MacDonald opened by jockeying for position against the cage. They exchanged strikes standing up as MacDonald controlled the pace before hitting Lima with an apparently unintentional low blow. The Canadian tried to use his wrestling to gain an advantage, but Lima held off MacDonald's takedown attempts. Neither fighter dominated, though Lima's lack of offense likely caused judges to score in favor of the challenger.

MacDonald continued to grind Lima against the cage to start the third round, and eventually took his opponent to the mat around the three-minute mark as the crowd began booing. After he did little to no damage on the ground, the referee stood up the combatants. That gave Lima some momentum, and he began to control the pace in the stand-up. He caught MacDonald with a leg kick that sent him to the mat and jumped on top for the final minute of action.

After a strong start to the second half of the scheduled five-round matchup, Lima perfectly defended a takedown and gained full-mount position. Cameras captured the tremendous swelling on MacDonald’s left shin from the third-round leg kick. The referee stood up both fighters halfway through the round, but the challenger immediately shot for another takedown to avoid standing on his damaged leg. MacDonald gained position on top for the final minute of the frame, but, as in the previous rounds, he failed to cause any damage from that stance.

MacDonald managed to once again gain top position early in the fifth round. He was much more active on the ground this time, and opened up a cut over Lima’s eye. As both competitors were covered in blood, MacDonald methodically pounded Lima for almost four minutes to close the round and claim the welterweight title.