Shortly after Gegard Mousasi dispatched Rafael Carvalho to claim the middleweight crown at Bellator 200, he called out 170-pound champion Rory MacDonald.
It didn’t take long for “The Red King” to accept the challenge, as he took to Twitter to tell Bellator president Scott Coker and matchmaker Rich Chou that it was “the fight to make right now.”
@mousasi_mma congratulations on you dominant victory, @ScottCoker @rich_chou i know you wanted a title defense from me before challenging at middle weight. but myself vs @mousasi_mma is the fight to make right now, so lets make this happen!?
— Rory MacDonald (@rory_macdonald) May 25, 2018
Mousasi was dominant in London on Friday. He took Carvalho down multiple times, landed ground-and-pound and advanced to full mount. Eventually, the Brazilian gave up his back, and the former UFC and Strikeforce competitor sealed his victory with more punches 3:35 into the first round. Mousasi has won seven fights in a row, including two under the Bellator banner.
MacDonald kicked off his promotional tenure with two straight victories, submitting Paul Daley in his debut before outpointing Douglas Lima to capture welterweight gold.
Both Mousasi and MacDonald have mentioned a fight against each other in interviews and through social media since Mousasi signed with Bellator last year. MacDonald, meanwhile, has expressed an interest in competing in multiple weight classes.