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“They want to hear what I’m willing to do and what we could do to expand our relationship together.

“Bellator is 100 percent backing me on this project of bringing big shows to Canada,” he said. “They don’t want to play games and just tinker around in the Canadian market either — we want to hit it big and they want me to be the guy.

“We’re going to do it right— we’re going to bring the show to Canada, all over Canada. We’re not going to bring a half-assed show; we’re going to bring the heat to Canada and I think everybody is really going to respond well to it.”

With his nose on the mend — “It’s straight now!” — and his move to Bellator providing a surge of excitement and optimism, MacDonald is eagerly looking forward to what the future holds.

“I am genuinely happy with Bellator,” he said. “There is so much potential for big things for us together. I think we’re going to come up with some really cool stuff for people to see really soon.”

MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR MACDONALD

One of the things that really appealed to MacDonald in signing his new deal was the wide array of potential opponents and opportunities that exist for him in the Bellator cage.

“There are a lot of guys willing to take chances and fight guys,” he said. “I’m willing to go up to 185 (pounds) and there are tons of guys in the welterweight division and the middleweight division that are exciting, so there is the potential for some crazy fights.”

Here are some of the names “The Red King” rattled off when asked whom he’s interested in sharing the cage with in the future.