Preview: Bellator 232 ‘MacDonald vs. Lima’

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Bellator MMA wraps up its Welterweight Grand Prix Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Events Center in Uncasville, Connecticut. The finals pits the current champion, Rory MacDonald, against the man he took the belt from, Douglas Lima. Both the Grand Prix title and MacDonald’s divisional strap will be on the line when the two battle for a second time.

The co-main event of the bill needed a quick reversal as Paul Daley will no longer be squaring off against Sabah Homasi, but will instead will lock horns with late replacement Saad Awad in a 175-pound catchweight affair.

Here is a deeper look into the main card of Bellator 232:

Rory MacDonald vs. Douglas Lima

MacDonald entered the tournament as the clear-cut favorite but now prognosticators see him as a betting underdog, though he defeated Lima back in January 2018. This drastic change is likely due to his comments after his quarterfinals draw against Jon Fitch, where he stated that he struggled with fighting after his new-found faith in Jesus Christ. He has said since that he has found a balance between the two and is in the right state of mind heading into the big rematch.

He shouldn’t be overlooked, considering he holds a 21-5-1 record and has only tasted defeat once in his five Bellator appearances. The 30-year-old also holds victories over the likes of Nate Diaz, B.J. Penn, Demain Maia, Tyron Woodley and the aforementioned Lima. The Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran is a methodical striker, who uses range well by keeping his opponent on the end of his long punches and teep kicks. All of his power blows are a byproduct of his stinging jab and body shots. The Canadian can sneak a kick to his opponent’s chin without any telegraphing, though he doesn’t check enough kicks, which could be a huge issue against Lima. The 30-year-old is an extraordinary grappler, who doesn’t receive enough credit for how good his offensive and defensive wrestling is. He can get takedowns from timing a drop-step entry or tripping his foe down with a bodylock. The “Red King” possess sensational top control and will batter his foe with punches and elbows from on top. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt has notched seven submission victories. Besides the concern of his mental state, the longtime Tristar Gym team member has been through a plethora of wars in his career which might have taken a great toll on his body. It is a major question mark if the Canadian is still durable enough to battle through the strikes of someone as dynamic as Lima is.

Lima punched his ticket into the finals after a fifth-round submission to win his trilogy against former champion Andrey Koreshkov, and then serving up Michael Page the first loss of his career with a beautiful knockout via leg kick/right hand combination. The back-to-back wins helped set up a rematch with MacDonald, who was able to take the title. The 31-year-old is a spirited striker. He doesn’t do anything flashy with his boxing, just staying tight with his defense and working behind a rudimentary 1-2 combination. However, the Brazilian is deadly because he has great accuracy and timing. He sets up a lot of his power strikes by wearing down his opponent with body punches. While his punches do a lot of damage, his entire striking game is centered around his leg kicks. His leg kicks are arguably the very best in MMA: MacDonald learned this in their first encounter. The American Kickboxing Academy team member has a very underrated ground game. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with 10 submission victories on his record. He isn’t a strong wrestler, though, as he was taken down by MacDonald numerous times in their first meeting. He did display some improvement in that area in his third bout against Koreshkov. Two reasons Lima is suspectable to the takedowns is his opponents catch his kicks and he makes the mistake of backing up towards the cage, leaving him sometimes trapped. He also struggled to get MacDonald off of him in their fight. One of Lima’s strengths is that he seems to have an endless gas tank and appears to grow stronger as the fight hits deep waters while his counterparts tend to fade due to the cumulative damage his leg kicks take on them.

This is an amazing matchup that didn’t disappoint anybody when they first met. I am so grateful both competitors were able to reach the finals and give us a much-needed second helping. Lima is going to want this fight to remain on the feet, while MacDonald will be looking to close the distance and get the fight to the canvas. Whoever dictates where the fight takes place will likely be the one walking out of the cage holding two belts. Prior to tape study, I was thinking about picking Lima to recapture the title but since rewatching their first fight, I am picking MacDonald to retain. I expect this to be a bloody battle with both fighters having to overcome some adversity. However, I think the oddsmakers have completely disrespected the Canadian with the lines. He won the last fight and until I see Lima fix the hole in his takedown defense, I have to pick against him here. MacDonald retains his title after a back and forth contest. The Red King by split decision.

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