HONOLULU – Scott Coker is at peace with [autotag]Rory MacDonald[/autotag]’s departure from Bellator.
After former welterweight champion MacDonald (21-6-1 MMA, 3-2-1 BMMA) made a surprise free agency move to the PFL earlier this week, Coker spoke publicly about what happened for the first time.
In the immediate aftermath of MacDonald’s departure, Coker sent out a classy farewell over social media. MacDonald claimed he was never given a formal offer from Bellator to stick around, and while keeping the behind-the-scenes stories to himself, Coker did offer some perspective.
“I don’t want to get into negotiations and all that,” Coker told MMA Junkie on Friday after the ceremonial weigh-ins for Bellator 236 in Honolulu. “This is what I will say: At the end of the day, we keep the fighters that we want to keep. I think historically, we’ve been successful in that. If we want to keep you on the roster, we’ll find a way. Look, agents come into play, dollars come into play, and it’s a value proposition at some point. So to me, we just passed. We just said, ‘Hey, we wish you luck.’
“I think he’s a great guy and I don’t want to say anything about Rory other than we had some great fights here together, he was a great partner and now it’s time for him to move on.”
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After a lengthy UFC stint that saw him unsuccessfully challenge for the title and take part in many big fights, MacDonald moved to Bellator in early 2017. He had six fights with the organization, won the 170-pound belt, and also fought for the middleweight strap.
The final chapter of MacDonald’s Bellator career saw him defend his title through the welterweight grand prix before he lost the belt to Douglas Lima in their $1 million title rematch at Bellator 232 in October.
It was MacDonald’s final Bellator bout. He became a free agent after he lost the belt and inked a deal with PFL. Coker said MacDonald fulfilled his contractual obligations.
“We had a certain amount of fights. We honored those fights. We honored what we said we were going to do,” Coker said. “I have no bad feelings, and honestly, I wish him well. It’s going to be a rough road here, too, for him. So I wish him well. He’s a great fighter and he was here when we really needed to have free agents. From the very beginning of Bellator when I came in, we signed some guys and he was willing to take the risk and come over. He’ll always be apart of the history of Bellator. It’s just time for him to fight somewhere else.”
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