Bellator 191 - McDonald vs. Ligier Preview

steemsports (80)in #mma • 7 years ago

SteemSports Presenter: @zentalk

Steemsports Editor: @mojorisin

The world of MMA has been looking forward to Bellator 191. One of the most anticipated fights, “McDonald vs. Ligier” will place Fri., Dec. 15, 2017 at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.

The card has been stacked with a lot of promising fights. Many a fighters who have left the UFC in search of glory have found themselves now fighting for Bellator. Fighters including the hard hitting former UFC Bantamweight who left their fold still ranked in the top 10. It may not be long until he finds himself entering the contender’s picture in Bellator. Of course to do that he will first have to impress many in his first fight under Scott Coker.

So, lets have a closer look at this upcoming fight:

135 lbs.: Michael McDonald (17-4) vs. Peter Ligier (8-1-1)

Michael McDonald has recently made a ton of progress moving towards a world title in UFC and holds a very impressive record of 17-4 in the Bantamweight division.

Some of the things that make him such an impressive fighter include the fact that he’s a proven finisher with nine wins by knockout and six by submission.

However, he did hit a bit of a rough patch recently when things went a bit sour for his record. After knocking out former WEC champion Miguel Torres he hit a few bumps in the road accumulating losses to Urijah Faber and John Lineker.

In fact things really took a turn for the worse after his most recent fight when “Mayday” McDonald complained he was dead broke. He also claimed that the UFC was dishonest in their dealings with him. For these reasons alone, we can now find "Mayday" McDonald fighting for Bellator.

On the other hand, for “BadAzz” Peter Ligier this fight is very important, it is his Bellator debut as well. Even though there is a lot of hype behind McDonald, Ligier is no stranger to MMA and his record proves that with two knockouts and three submissions in his eight finishes. Another thing he has going for him is the fact that he has secured wins in his last five straight fights.

The stakes are high and getting a win in against a former UFC contender would be a major accomplishment for him and would give him a lot of credibility outside of Europe, which has been the Frenchman's stomping grounds for his career to date.

Bellator has been extremely strategic in scheduling match-ups often debuting fighters with big ticket names. This strategy has worked in the past in drawing a crowd and bringing excitement to their events and it will most likely work in this case as well. Ligier, 5’6” tall is two inches shorter than McDonald perhaps more importantly less experienced when compared to McDonald. This guy has had huge ticket fights with fighters including Brad Pickett, Urijah Faber, Masanori Kanehara, and others.

Ligier certainly has a shot and locking in this win as he has proven himself as a finisher but McDonald's record is more impressive with nine knockouts and six submissions. Most people predict McDonald will get the win in this fight but Ligier certainly stands a chance her. It should be a great fight!

Sources:
https://www.mmafighting.com
https://www.mmamania.com
https://www.combatlegend.com