Bellator champ Douglas Lima on Rory MacDonald: 'Mark my words, I'm going to finish him'

It’s rare that a champion is willing to go into enemy territory to defend his title. And yet, that was the case for Bellator welterweight title holder Douglas Lima if it meant fighting Rory MacDonald.

“I said it before. I’ll fight him in his backyard. I don’t mind,” Lima this week told MMAjunkie. “I fought in Canada many times before. I don’t mind it at all. I told them, ‘Wherever you want to make this fight, just make it happen.’ I don’t mind where it is.

“I was actually expecting it to be in Canada. He’s such a big name from there. More people to watch. It doesn’t matter who they’re cheering for. As long as the fight happened, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Of course, Lima  (29-6 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) won’t have to worry about a home disadvantage when he takes on MacDonald (19-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) on Jan. 20 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Lima will be looking for his fourth consecutive win and second title defense after scoring a unanimous decision over Lorenz Larkin in June at Bellator NYC. MacDonald, meanwhile, will look to build on the momentum of his impressive submission win over Paul Daley in his promotional debut, which snapped a two-fight skid in the UFC.

Daley represents a common denominator for both MacDonald and Lima. Whereas MacDonald dominated his way to victory over “Semtex,” Lima went the distance for a unanimous-decision win last year at Bellator 158.

That was highlighted by MacDonald during their first face-off, who used that as evidence to predict Lima is “in for a hurting” when they meet. Not so fast, says Lima.

“MMA math doesn’t work,” Lima said. “It doesn’t matter if I took a guy to a decision, and he finished a guy. … It doesn’t matter. I guess it matters to him. But for me, I’m going to make it simple for him. I’m going to finish him instead of a decision. Let him say what he wants to say.”

“I really see myself knocking this guy out,” Lima added. “I do. People say he’s tough, he’s been through some wars. But, man, that jaw is always going to be the same. And I’m going to find it, and I’m going to knock this guy out. Mark my words, I’m going to finish him.”

To hear more from Lima, check out the video above.

And for more on “Bellator: Lima vs. MacDonald,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.