Rory MacDonald’s hold on the Bellator MMA welterweight throne has grown unexpectedly tenuous.
The Tristar Gym standout retained his 170-pound title and advanced out of the welterweight grand prix quarterfinals in a contentious majority draw -- 46-48, 47-47, 47-47 -- with Jon Fitch in the Bellator 220 headliner on Saturday at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Next up for MacDonald (20-5-1, 2-1-1 Bellator): a semifinal showdown with the undefeated Neiman Gracie on June 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Fitch (32-7-2, 1-0-1 Bellator) overcame a difficult first 10 minutes and a number of overhand rights from the Canadian and started to chip away at his resolve.