Former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title contender Michael Mcdonald parted ways with the UFC organization and later signed with Bellator Mma in March of this year. The 135-pound "Mayday" finally has a date set for his debut fight with the Mixed Martial Arts promotion.
A date with no name
McDonald will compete on December 15, at Bellator 190. The fight card will be held at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England and an opponent has yet to be determined. Bellator MMA will promote the event in conjunction with BAMMA MMA, a promotion located in the United Kingdom.
The 26-year-old McDonald holds a professional MMA record of 17-4 with 15 of those wins being finished by either a knockout, technical knockout, or submission. MacDonald was touted as one of the top bantamweights and rising prospects in the world before losing in the championship fight against the title holder, Renan Barao in 2013. He did not earn the title that night, losing via a fourth-round armbar submission, but McDonald proved he could hang with the best.
Downward slope
MacDonald would bounce back with a win, but from there his record became inconsistent as he would lose again, then win, and finally, leave the UFC organization on a loss in July of 2016. He fought nine times inside the UFC octagon, going 6-3 from 2011 to 2016.
In March of 2016, McDonald was the number seven ranked 135-pound fighter in the world.
One of the two other losses with the UFC came against new UFC Hall of Famer, Urijah Faber and then against hard-hitting John Lineker. Once news of McDonald leaving the UFC spread, rumors began to circulate and questions were asked as to why.
The top bantamweight announced that he was resigning from the UFC due to organization officials dealing with him "very dishonestly and disrespectfully." A week later he was signed to Bellator MMA.
This calendar year marks 10 years that McDonald has now been competing professionally in MMA. He trains with the Last Stand Fight Team at Oakdale Mixed Martial Arts in his native state of California.
No other fights for the Bellator 190 fight card have been announced. The event will air live in prime time on Spike TV. A week prior on December 9, Bellator MMA officials will host Bellator 189 from Florence, Italy. A middleweight world title fight between champion Rafael Carvalho and challenger, Alessio Sakara will headline that event from the Nelson Mandela Forum.
