Having signed for the organisation back in August, top ranked welterweight Rory MacDonald finally has a fight booked under the Bellator banner.

MacDonald (18-4) will make his Bellator bow against Paul Daley (39-14-2) in the main event of Bellator 179 which will take place on May 19th inside London’s SSE Arena. MacDonald, a former challenger to the UFC welterweight title, is arguably the highest profile name to defect from the UFC to Scott Coker’s promotion and the bout with Daley represents one of the highest profile match-ups that Bellator can make.

Daley, coming off a stunning flying knee knockout of Brennan Ward last month, was tipped to clash with fellow Brit Michael ‘Venom’ Page on the London card but that bout didn’t come to fruition. Instead he faces ‘The Red King’ and the winner will be ideally placed to challenge Bellator’s 170-pound champion Douglas Lima.

Lima already holds a win over Daley from the organisation’s most recent visit to London last July but a win over the highly-rated MacDonald would unquestionably place his name in the conversation for another crack at the title.

Michael Page, meanwhile, remains without a fight for the London card but you can expect him to be involved when the final card is announced. Scott Coker retains an interest Lorenz Larkin, though they couldn’t come to terms on a deal to sign the fighter who is currently a free agent after he fought out his UFC contract.

If terms can be agreed, however, a bout between Page and Larkin would be a mouthwatering addition to Bellator’s return to England’s capital city.