The Bellator MMA Welterweight Title is going to be defended this January as champion Douglas Lima defends the gold against Rory MacDonald.
It was the LA Times that first reported the story.
Lima (29-6-0) is going to be making the second defense of his championship, last defending it against Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 180. Lima does enter the fight on the strength of a three fight winning streak, defeating Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley and the previously mentioned Lorenz Larkin. Lima has only suffered a pair of defeats during his entire Bellator MMA run. They came to Andrey Koreshkov (in their first meeting) and former welterweight champion Ben Askren.
MacDonald (19-4-0) is currently undefeated under the Bellator MMA banner, defeating Paul Daley by second round submission at Bellator 179. MacDonald has also previously challenged for the UFC Welterweight Title, losing to then champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 189. MacDonald earned a total of nine wins in UFC competition, with notable wins coming over Nate Diaz, BJ Penn, Jake Ellenberger, Damien Maia, Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine.
Bellator MMA: Lima vs. MacDonald takes place on Saturday, January 20 from The Forum in Inglewood, California with Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Spike TV.
