{"id":269203,"date":"2018-02-01T08:41:04","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T16:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=269203"},"modified":"2018-02-01T08:41:04","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T16:41:04","slug":"coach-firas-zahabi-believes-rory-macdonald-ko-fedor-emelianenko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/rory-macdonald\/coach-firas-zahabi-believes-rory-macdonald-ko-fedor-emelianenko\/","title":{"rendered":"Coach Firas Zahabi believes Rory MacDonald would KO Fedor Emelianenko"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Rory MacDonald spent the last few months preparing for his Bellator welterweight title fight with Douglas Lima<\/a> (which he won via hard-fought decision<\/a>), he’s also repeatedly expressed interest in serving as an alternate in Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

This Heavyweight Grand Prix is populated by far larger men in Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Frank Mir, and Fedor Emelianenko.\u00a0Despite the fact that entering this tournament would force MacDonald to fight men three weight classes heavier than him, his coach Firas Zahabi<\/a> is all for it. In fact, he believes MacDonald could thrive in this tournament, even KO the likes of the legend Fedor Emelianenko.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Rory is in his prime, and Fedor is not. I think if Rory catches him on the button \u2014 and he will \u2014 it will be a great name for him to collect,\u201d Zahabi told Fight Hub<\/a>\u00a0(h\/t BloodyElbow<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cRory has got that experience, has got that hunger. He\u2019s in his prime now. Now\u2019s the time to take those chances. If you asked me [about his joining a heavyweight tournament] two, three years ago, I would\u2019ve said no. Now\u2019s the right time. This is it.\u201d<\/p>\n