Injury-free Bellator champ Douglas Lima wants to prove place at top, knock out Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald’s name carries weight.

While he came up short in his one UFC title challenge, MacDonald made it a memorable war – one that earned him and then-champion Robbie Lawler an extra $50,000 and some damage to their faces. MacDonald beat some of the toughest men in the division, including current champ Tyron Woodley, on his way there.

Despite a two-fight skid then, MacDonald was one of the hottest free agents in recent MMA history when he left the UFC. And once Bellator picked him up, he served a reminder of his skills by making easy work of Paul Daley in his debut.

All in all, one wouldn’t be wrong in assessing that Bellator champion Douglas Lima (29-6 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) won’t have just any challenger in front of him when he meets MacDonald (19-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) on Jan. 20 at Bellator 192, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and airs on Paramount.

But that’s not how Lima is going about it.

“It’s the fight I wanted,” Lima told MMAjunkie. “He’s a tough guy but no big deal. To me, he’s an opponent like any other. He’s got his strengths. He’s been in many wars. But after the first hand lands, he’ll change his plan, for sure.

“He’s very sure of himself. He’s saying he’s one step ahead of everyone in the division, right? But let him be. He’s very confident, and that will change as soon as the first hand connects.”

Of course, it’s not like Lima doesn’t bring a few accomplishments of his own into the headliner. The Brazilian titleholder hasn’t lost an MMA bout since July 2015, when Andrey Koreshkov put an end to Lima’s first Bellator reign with a clear-cut unanimous decision. Since then, Lima has racked up three consecutive wins, including the Bellator 164 knockout over Koreshkov to reclaim the title.

Sure, momentum helps. But Lima’s confidence leading up to the bout finds support in yet another factor. Unlike what happened in the lead-up to his last loss in the cage, which he entered off nightmarish knee injuries, his body is on his side this time.

“I’m healthy and injury-free,” Lima said. “And that is a win in itself. Because I’ve been training since I beat Larkin. I was expecting to fight Rory in November. I was ready, but they scheduled it for January.

“So I’m about this: I have no injuries, I’ve been training nonstop, improving on what I can. Let’s go. Let’s get this guy, let’s knock this guy out to prove to everyone that I belong in the top five.”

Lima is ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, while MacDonald sits at No. 3.

In somewhat atypical behavior compared to a lot of his fellow big-time champions, who use their leverage to become more selective and often space out their title defenses, Lima craves activity. In fact, he’d fight “four or five times” a year if it were up to him.

Still, despite his desire, Lima hasn’t fought since last June, when he spoiled UFC vet Lorenz Larkin’s Bellator debut with an unanimous decision to retain the 170-pound belt.

“I had a surgery early (last year), but after that I was fine,” Lima said. “If it were up to me, I’d have fought in November.”

That ended up not being too much of a hassle; Lima ultimately managed to stay healthy and at least gets to headline a big card a couple of weeks from now. But he’s hoping for a different 2018.

“I want to fight three or four times,” Lima said.

For more on Bellator 192, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.