PFL welterweight Rory MacDonald has vowed to never fight in New Jersey again following his controversial loss to Gleison Tibau.
MacDonald’s comments come after he was on the wrong end of one of the most criticized judging decisions in MMA history at PFL 5 last month.
Having dominated Curtis Millender in his first appearance of the season, the former Bellator Welterweight World Champion moved on to face Tibau. Despite appearing to have cruised to a comfortable victory over the Brazilian veteran, the MMA community was sent into a state of shock after a split decision went against MacDonald. The 38-year-old even admitted his initial surprise at being awarded the win.
After the controversial defeat, which occurred in Atlantic City, MacDonald appears to be taking matters into his own hands by refusing to ever fight in New Jersey again in an effort to avoid the state’s judges.
Speaking with FanSided’s Amy Kaplan during the PFL press junket, “Red King” revealed he is finished fighting for that commission while their judges aren’t held accountable for their decisions.
“I’ll never fight for the New Jersey Athletic Commission again. It would just not be wise. I think that there needs to be some accountability for judges, they can get away with doing something like that and there’s no backlash.”
MacDonald added that, while it might appear to be just a mistake, clear errors like his loss to Tibau at PFL 5 can affect the lives of the fighters who are on the receiving end of questionable decisions.
“Keep doing it for years to come to other fighters, and it affects their life, big time.”
But despite the controversial loss against Tibau, MacDonald still finished high enough in the welterweight standings to qualify for the playoffs. “Red King” will meet Ray Cooper III, the winner of the 2019 PFL Welterweight Tournament, at PFL 7 on August 13. “Bradda Boy” will be riding a four-fight winning streak into the bout.
The winner of that fight will meet the victor of the other semi-final between Joao Zeferino and Magomed Magomedkerimov in the 170-pound final.
Do you think Rory MacDonald can defeat Ray Cooper III at the 2021 PFL Playoffs?
