Gegard Mousasi met Rory MacDonald in the first defense of his middleweight title on Saturday, September 29 at Bellator 206. The fight was the first champion vs. champion fight in Bellator history as Rory MacDonald holds the title at 170 pounds.
Gegard Mousasi Dominant Against MacDonald
In the first round, both fighters performed well, feeling each other out and being technical. MacDonald shot in for a takedown a few times but was never able to finish one. Mousasi was the clear aggressor in round one as he did very well with his striking. He utilized his jab exceptionally well in the first round, whipping MacDonald’s head back on multiple occasions. While MacDonald was landing decently as well, he couldn’t find an answer for the jab of Mousasi. After round one, it was clear that Mousasi was up one round to none.
In the second round, it was much of the same. Mousasi was landing his jab again and again until MacDonald went for an Iminari roll. His attempt almost paid off, but Mousasi was able to reverse the position and end up on top.
Mousasi would find himself in MacDonald’s guard after the reversal, but that didn’t stop him from landing shots. He landed plenty of short punches and elbows as MacDonald’s nose was leaking onto the canvas. After a good minute or two in MacDonald’s guard, Mousasi was able to pass to half guard and then quickly pass to full mount.
Once Mousasi got into the full mount, he would proceed to get to work. He rained down elbow after elbow to the already bloodied face of Rory MacDonald. MacDonald tried all he could to defend himself against the devastating shots, but Herb Dean had seen enough. Gegard Mousasi had defeated Rory MacDonald in the second round of their superfight by TKO to defend his middleweight title for the first time. In his post-fight interview, Mousasi stated that he would like to face undefeated, Rafael Lovato Jr. in his next title defense.
