Opening Odds Favor Douglas Lima Over Rory MacDonald at Bellator 232
- Bellator 232 goes Saturday, October 26th, at 10 PM ET with MacDonald vs Lima II as the main event
- Can MacDonald retain his title and go 2-0 against Lima?
- Will Lima be able to regain the championship he once held?
Rory MacDonald vs Douglas Lima II sits at the top of the marquee for Bellator 232 on Saturday (Oct. 26th, 10 PM ET). MacDonald and Lima are the last men standing in Bellator’s welterweight grand prix.
The first bout between these two was incredibly close and produced one of the best fights in Bellator history back in Jan. 2018. The rematch comes at the perfect time with the best welterweights in the organization falling by the wayside in this tournament.
The opening odds have Lima as a modest -160 favorite.
MacDonald vs Lima II Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory MacDonald | +130 |
| Douglas Lima | -160 |
Odds taken 10/07/19.
The first fight was a display of tremendous heart and solid martial arts techniques. MacDonald spent the bulk of the fight unable to use both of his legs efficiently. Lima was steady, laying in significant leg kicks which noticeably hindered MacDonald’s mobility. Still, the Canadian dug down into the deepest recesses of his soul and pulled out an impassioned decision victory to capture that welterweight world title.
Their career paths have diverged since then. Lima has bounced back with a ferocity and efficiency indicative of someone fully committed to being the best 170-pounder in the organization.
For MacDonald, he has had a couple performances that have caused pundits and fans alike to question his mentality towards competing at a high level. All factors considered, it’s not surprising that the loser of the first tilt is favored to win the rematch.
Prediction: Lima Reclaims the Belt
A demoralizing loss to then-middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi caused doubts over MacDonald’s future. Then an uninspired draw (a fight several people thought Rory lost) against Jon Fitch caused further concern.
MacDonald last had a thoroughly dominant win over previously unbeaten Neiman Gracie. But it wasn’t long ago that MacDonald himself said he might not have that killer instinct anymore. The talks of MacDonald retiring have lessened a bit but those two aforementioned underwhelming performances still cause concern.
Lima’s performances have been more emphatic throughout the grand prix. His fifth-round submission win over former Bellator welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov started things off. Then Lima put the first blemish on Michael Page’s record with one of the more wild highlight reel KOs we’ve seen in MMA this year.
This underscores that Lima is dangerous both early on in the fight and can sustain himself even into the championship rounds.
I think as it gets closer to the fight, there will be less of a gap in the odds. I still think Lima will be the favorite but the odds will be a bit less slanted towards him. Oftentimes sequels don’t live up to the original. I theorize this won’t be the case with MacDonald vs Lima II.
There’s a lot of parity in this bout but I think Lima presents the early value here. The quality of performances that Lima has had over this grand prix trumps MacDonald’s efforts, in my opinion. This in conjunction with the first fight being so competitive lends itself more to Lima (the challenger) making the proper adjustments. In conclusion, I think Lima wins the second fight and we get yet another MMA classic.
Pick: Lima (-160)
A part-time writer and full-time broadcaster, Dylan has hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, and covered some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage.
