Former UFC fighter Rory MacDonald made a successful Bellator MMA debut at Bellator 179, submitting Paul Daley in the main event.
MacDonald plans on returning to the Bellator cage again, but not until next year at the earliest.
The Canadian fighter made the announcement himself when answering a fans question on Twitter:
unfortunately no 4 this year, i was pushing very hard 2 fight atleast once more this year but it doesnt look like it will happen
— Rory MacDonald (@rory_macdonald) August 18, 2017
Many thought MacDonald would be next in line for a welterweight title bout against Douglas Lima, but MacDonald wasn’t to impressed by what he has seen from the champion.
“I was really underwhelmed,” MacDonald said to MMA Junkie. “If these guys think they’re keeping the belt fighting like that, they’re just going to be another body in the grave.”
It would also seem that the fighter is still training during his time off, according to a recent Instagram post:
Even though MacDonald has said he isn’t fighting until next year, a specific return date or opponent has yet to be announced either.
