UFC Title Challenger Michael McDonald Signs With Bellator MMA
One time UFC Bantamweight Title challenger Michael McDonald has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA.
A debut date and opponent have yet to be set by the promotion.
McDonald fought then UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao for the gold at UFC On Fuel TV 7, but was submitted late in the fight.
The fighter recently spoke out in interviews about the lack of fights and low pay the UFC was offering him, even stating that he didn’t have enough funds to even train for his next fight. McDonald would be granted his release by the UFC less than two weeks ago.
Michael competed for the final time in the UFC back at UFC Fight Night 91, where he was promptly knocked out by Brazilian fighter Jon Lineker.
During his nine fight run under the UFC banner, the bantamweight contender earned some notable victories over Chris Cariaso, Alex Soto, Miguel Torres, Brad Pickett and Masanori Kanehara.
Eduardo Dantas is the current Bellator MMA Bantamweight Champion, but he will be defending the gold against Leandro Higo in a few weeks at Bellator 177.
McDonald joins a promotion that has been on quite the signing spree lately, with such fighters as Lorenz Larkin, Rory MacDonald and Ryan Bader also joining the promotion in the last year.
