Douglas Lima walked into Bellator 192 as the welterweight champion, but it was Rory MacDonald who left the event with the belt around his waist.
The former champion feels that he handed the fight over to the challenger this past Saturday Night.
”I wanted to knock him out,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “I knew it would be a tough fight. I’m glad that we put on a war, but it’s stuck in my throat, man. I kind of gave him the fifth round. I should have tried to get back up but I didn’t want to lose position and locked him in my guard, waiting for the referee to stand us back up again. That was my mistake. I still have to re-watch the fight, but I think it was 2-2 and I had to win that round. But I saw that his leg was too hurt and he wouldn’t be able to walk, so I rushed in like crazy to kick and that’s when he used his experience and took me down. That was my mistake. I should have moved more because he wouldn’t be able to walk, and I gave him the round. Man, what a mistake, I can’t stop thinking about that moment. I had the fight in my hands and I gave it to him. It was my mistake.”
Lima did so much damage to MacDonald with the leg kicks that the former UFC fighter admitted that it was the worst pain he ever felt in any fight ever.
Although the gold was lost in the first month of 2018, a confident Lima believes the belt is going to be his by the end of the year.
”I will get this belt back before the end of the year, no matter who has it by then,” Lima said. “Let’s wait and see. But I can’t wait for a rematch, man. I can’t stop thinking about that belt. I want to get it back.”
MacDonald has yet to announce when he would first like to defend the gold, but the champion could be out of action for half a year due to the damage delivered by Lima.
