He left the UFC as one of its best welterweights, so of course when Rory MacDonald came to Bellator he was soon crowned champ. And while his attempt at middleweight glory fell short in a superfight against Bellator middleweight king Gegard Mousasi, he still Rory MacDonald. The best 170 pounder the organization has.

But at Bellator 220 this past weekend, MacDonald faced off with down comforter Jon Fitch, and after the fight ended in a majority draw, MacDonald was talking about retirement.

(In case you missed it, here are some Bellator 220 highlights:)

Anyhoo, MacDonald is reaching the end of his career. Why do I say this? Because once fighters start talking about retirement, it means the seed has already taken root in their heads.

Today, MacDonald walked back on this comments a little bit. As per a statement (courtesy of MMAFighting):

I felt an internal struggle during the fight I never experienced before. I have always enjoyed my time in the cage by expressing my techniques in full out combat against another top-level fighter, but this time I wasn’t enjoying it. It felt more like a job than the satisfaction I am used to feeling by being dominant and applying what I have practiced to defeat someone.

…

To be clear, I am not retiring from my professional MMA career, I’ve always been true and honest in the sport and I spoke from the heart.

As for my career at the moment. I am going to move forward in this tournament and compete boldly against Neiman Gracie in New York at MSG on June 14.

It’s not hard to read between the lines on that one. The dude has been in war after war. That takes a toll on everyone. So for him to start vocalizing the notion of hanging up the gloves… Despite MacDonald walking back on his retirement talk, it’s clear the clock is ticking on the dude’s Bellator run.

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