The Weekend Bulletin

A quick snapshot at the weekend that was.

Biggest Upset: Jack Hermansson +175 over Ronaldo Souza

Notable New Champions:

• IBF World Junior Featherweight Champion: Daniel Roman
• Legacy Fighting Alliance Lightweight Champion: Harvey Park
• Interim Titan Fighting Championship Lightweight Champion: Rafael Alves
• WBC World Junior Bantamweight Championship: Juan Francisco Estrada
• WBA World Junior Welterweight Champion: Regis Prograis
• Enfusion 80kg World Champion: Robin Ciric
• Enfusion 52kg World Champion: Aurore Dos Santos
• Interim KSW Featherweight Champion: Salahdine Parnasse

A Few Storylines Going Forward:

1. Draws That Don’t Need Rematches: The easiest way to a rematch in the fight game is a draw. It’s usually set in motion from the second the cards are read and both hands are raised. This weekend featured two main event world title draws, however, I would pay cash money to not see either ever again. Almost concurrently, Rory MacDonald and Jon Fitch, and Robert Easter Jr. and Rances Barthelemy put on absolute slogfests that were absolute chores to sit through. They proved nothing and no need to run it back.
2. Tournaments Are My Happy Place: It doesn’t matter what sport, what level, or even if it’s a March Madness Breakfast Cereal bracket, I absolutely adore tournaments, so I was a happy boy this weekend. Two different divisions of the World Boxing Super Series plus Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix (despite the actual, you know, fight) were going on this weekend, and with Invicta’s one-night strawweight tournament next weekend, we’re in heady times for bracket-lovers.
3. The Dread King: We can never truly know what’s going on in the minds of fighters, but Rory MacDonald’s entire Saturday night was either troubling or enlightening, depending on your point of view. MacDonald turned in an absolutely uninspired performance against Jon Fitch, normally an opponent that Rory, at least a few-years-ago Rory, would probably have decimated. He was one point on one scorecard away from losing his championship, but escaped and advanced via a draw. Then the real questions started. To paraphrase, Rory claims that God has called to him and perhaps has asked him to not harm his opponents anymore. He admits to feeling confused and unsure about his purpose and needs to reevaluate. It should be noted that Rory has to bounce back and fight in seven weeks. Rory has noticably ramped up his religion in his social media, and combined with getting married and starting a family (Rory and wife are expecting a baby boy), those could be notable and legit reasons why he may not have the fearless spark to toss caution to the wind and go headfirst into the bullets anymore. He’s also, to this observer and to some of his own quotes, was never quite the same since his absolute war with Robbie Lawler in 2015, one of the best and bloodiest fights of all-time. We’ll see what the future will hold for The Red King, but it looks like we have seen the best and most dangerous of Rory MacDonald, if not the last in the cage of the man himself.