It certainly wasn’t a satisfying ending for anyone, but Rory MacDonald maintained the welterweight champion at Bellator 220 on Saturday night, after fighting Jon Fitch to a majority draw in San Jose, Calif.
The two exchanged takedowns and battled back and forth over the course of their five-round main event, but neither could find a route to the significant damage necessary to earn a clear-cut victory.
Though Fitch spent a large portion of the fight in top control, MacDonald landed many of the bigger shots that looked like might swing the fight to his favor.
At the end of 25 minutes of action, two of the judges scored the fight 47-47, while the other had it 48-46 in favor of Fitch. With two judges scoring it a draw, the overall result is scored a majority draw. As such, MacDonald keeps his belt and moves on in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, where he will next face Neiman Gracie.
The future could prove interesting, however, as MacDonald said after the fight that he doesn’t have the same drive to hurt people anymore as he did in the past.
?@JonFitchDotNet with the takedown in the first round.#Bellator220 pic.twitter.com/Dt96Xuxu4m
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 28, 2019
?@Rory_MacDonald with the takedown to close out the second round. pic.twitter.com/FdBddglWL6
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 28, 2019
A Majority Draw between @Rory_MacDonald and @JonFitchDotNet to close out #Bellator220 ? pic.twitter.com/DX3hxttW1z
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) April 28, 2019
.@Rory_MacDonald's post-fight interview. #Bellator220
"I don't know if I have that same drive to hurt people anymore." pic.twitter.com/6Iosk6RPID
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) April 28, 2019
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane maintains Bellator flyweight champion with brutal fight-ending gash
In the Bellator 220 co-main event, women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane split Veta Arteaga open to end their fight early in the third round.
Macfarlane started with a strong takedown game and attacked on the ground, but Arteaga proved adept at defending herself, even doing some damage from with some elbows off of her back.
As Macfarlane kept going back to the takedown, she put Arteaga on her back in the third frame and the end came quickly. Macfarlane dropped an elbow on Arteaga’s forehead, opening up a nasty gash, which caused the fight to be stopped a short time later.
Macfarlane improved her spotless record to 10-0 with three championship defenses, but said after the fight that she felt Arteaga deserved a rematch.
Catch the FULL FIRST ROUND between the champ – @Ilimanator and the challenger – @Ms_Veta at #Bellator220. pic.twitter.com/LTQfArg26o
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 28, 2019
Big elbow from the champ, @Ilimanator in round two. ?? pic.twitter.com/sTAlCSajzk
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 28, 2019
A brutal elbow from @ilimanator gets her the victory via TKO! ??
Watch #Bellator220 now! ? https://t.co/j4BIUf4XnH pic.twitter.com/BBOvMehX2U
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) April 28, 2019
Benson Henderson continues hunt for a Bellator belt
Benson Henderson and Adam Piccolotti put on a grappling heavy display that was about as close as it could get. Each man got in his takedowns and fair share of control, but they fought a back-and-forth war that lasted all three rounds.
Piccolotti took Henderson down in the first frame, took his back and remained there for much of the round, but then Henderson did much of the same in round two. They just continued to shift the momentum, but neither could close it out.
Henderson took a split decision from the judges with scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
Check out the dynamic FULL FIRST ROUND of tonight's bout between @AdamPiccolotti and @BensonHenderson. pic.twitter.com/0XCM2W2nAO
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 28, 2019
What a fight! @BensonHenderson and @AdamPiccolotti go the distance. Who'd you have winning? ?#Bellator220 pic.twitter.com/OVQto10xnf
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) April 28, 2019
The hard fought win comes by way of split decision for @BensonHenderson tonight.#Bellator220 pic.twitter.com/dIWEfKDuin
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) April 28, 2019
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Bellator 220: MacDonald vs. Fitch Full Results
Main Card
- Rory MacDonald drew Jon Fitch in a majority draw decision (46-48, 47-47, 47-47)
- Ilima-Lei Macfarlane def. Veta Arteaga via TKO (cut) at 1:50, R3
- Benson Henderson def. Adam Piccolotti via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Phil Davis def. Liam McGeary via submission (strikes) at 4:11, R3
- Gaston Bolanos def. Nathan Stolen via KO (punches) at 2:21, R1
Preliminary Card
- Aviv Gozali def. Travis Crain via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:15, R1
- Brandon Faumui def. Chris Avila via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Matt Perez def. Justin Tenedora via KO (punches) at 4:52, R1
- Cass Bell def. Peter Ishiguro via KO (punches) at of 2:59, R2
- Chuck Campbell def. Bruno Casillas via KO (knee) at 1:45, R1
- Hyder Amil def. Paradise Vaovasa via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:34, R1
- Josh San Diego def. Brandon Laroco by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Jordan Williams def. Diego Herzog via TKO (punches) at 1:21, R3
- Abraham Vaesau def. Justin Roswell via TKO (punches) at 1:59, R1
