At Bellator 220, welterweight champion Rory MacDonald will put his title on the line against Jon Fitch. The bout is part of Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament. As for the winner of MacDonald vs. Fitch, they’ll advance to face Neiman Gracie in the semi-finals on June 14 at Bellator 222.
Speaking at the Bellator NYC press conference, Coker was asked by MMA News’ Fernando Quiles what the situation should be if either MacDonald or Fitch were medically unable to fight Gracie with such a quick turnaround. Here’s what he had to say:
“You’re right, I don’t want to think about that at this point,” Coker admitted. “In all fairness, we’ve been through this before. When I was working at K1 you had what they call Survivor Rule, so, if one of the fighters gets hurt and can’t advance, then the survivor would continue on in the tournament.
“But, you know, we’re gonna keep all of our options open. So, if one of the fighters can’t continue, then we’ll just deal with it at that time and we’ll make the best decision possible. In talking to both the athletes, they both wanted a quick turnaround. So this works into their favor as well, is what they’re telling me.”
What do you think should be done if MacDonald or Fitch can’t make Bellator 222?
