Rory MacDonald will try to become the first fighter in Bellator MMA history to simultaneously hold two titles when he takes on middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi later tonight (Sat., Sept. 29, 2018) at Bellator 206 live on DAZN from inside SAP Center in San Jose, California.

MacDonald will be stepping up from 170 pounds, where he defeated Douglas Lima via unanimous decision back in January to claim the Bellator welterweight championship.

With history at his fingertips, the former UFC title challenger is already making plans to defend both belts if he’s able to defeat Mousasi later this evening.

“I would like to,” MacDonald told MMAWeekly.com earlier this week. “I’d have to talk with Bellator because I have the obligation of doing the welterweight tournament and that’s going to take about a year. I’m sure that the other middleweights are going to want a crack at the championship fight so I guess we’re going to have to see.

“If I became the middleweight champion, I would prefer to stay that way. I wouldn’t want to get stripped but I understand I have an obligation at welterweight doing that tournament. We’ll see.”

With MacDonald also set to take part in Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix tournament in 2019, it’s going to be difficult for “Red King” to be an active champion at 185 pounds. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, especially if Bellator wants MacDonald to become the face of the organization.

“Rory will enter the 170-pound tournament after his fight with Gegard so we’ll talk to Rory and see how he felt and a lot of it will depends on what the fighter wants to do,” Coker told MMAWeekly.com. “That door is open and we’re not going to close it.”

First things first, MacDonald must get past Mousasi tonight at Bellator 206. It’s going to be one of the toughest fights of MacDonald’s entire career, especially considering it’s his first stop at 185 pounds.

Bellator 206’s main card will start at 10 p.m. ET on DAZN. MMAmania.com will deliver results and play-by-play for the entirety of Bellator 206, which will begin at 7 p.m. ET with the “Prelims” undercard.