Bellator 191: Mayday McDonald wins with broken hand Valerie Letourneau calls for flyweight title fight and SPIKE era draws to a close

Bantamweight Michael 'Mayday McDonald came through his first test on his debut in Bellator against Peter Ligier, winning comfortably 30-27 on all three judges' cards, but left the arena in Newcastle with his right arm in a sling after suffering a compressed knuckle in his right hand.

It added to the litany of hand injuries which has left him on the sidelines for several long periods over the last three years. Ligier, of France, was a game opponent, but McDonald showed his class, presenting his European opponent with precise, poised attacks both on the feet and on the ground, controlling the range, but came back audibly at the end of the second stanza to tell his corner that he knew he had broken his right hand.

"I know what it is and I just want to get it looked at by the same surgeon who has done all the work on my hands, and I'm sure I'll be back," explained the Californian to Telegraph Sport. "I'm delighted to be here at Bellator and I'm looking to be matched against the very best here. I was happy with the performance.

"He ate some heavy punches. I hit him hard enough to break my right hand again, so he’s very durable and I expected that from him. I’ve seen him get put down and keep coming. He was very impressive, I’m honored to have fought him and he really stepped up to the occasion. I think that I have some pretty high accolades for a bantamweight, but I really have no idea how that stacks up to the other guys in my division. We will let this hand heal up and find out soon."

Another debutant at Bellator 191 was 34-year-old Canadian Valerie Letourneau, who defeated Cornwall's Kate Jackson in a flyweight bout with a unanimous points decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. Letourneau had lost her last three outings in the UFC, and having fought at both bantamweight and strawweight previously, admitted afterwards that it was a "vitally important" fight in her career.

Letourneau took the opportunity to call out Ilima MacFarlane, crowned the first women's flyweight champion in North America in November, as Bellator launched its division. Letourneau told Telegraph Sport after the victory, a performance in which she upped the tempo of the contest with each passing round that she had "no time to waste".

"I came into this fight with three defeats in a row, so I just had to win," she explained. "I'm not saying it would have been the end, but I really did have to get the win here. Chaos in fight week always seems to be a good omen for me. We didnt even get my luggage for six days. But this was a very important fight for me. I’m 34, my daughter’s a teenager now. I’ve sacrificed a lot of things for my career. But I want this Bellator belt so bad. It was really hard for me to watch Ilima Macfarlane and Emily Ducote fight for it first. I have so much respect for both of them, but I wanted to be the first one to fight for the title.

"Unfortunately, that didn’t happen but to me that’s the only thing I have on my mind right now. Ilima knows I want to fight her and she had a really good performance in her last fight. When it happens, I think it’s going to be a really good matchup. It’s going to be an exciting fight.”

Mohammed Yahya of the UAE, defeated Ash Griffiths in a dominant first round to win by TKO at 3:26 of Round 1, and heavyweight Phil De Fries claimed a victory over James Thompson with a submission via guillotine choke) at 1:33 of Round 1.  

De Fries explained afterwards: "I feel great, the less damage the better. I’m not getting any prettier. Hats off to James, he’s a legend. It’s a shame it was over so quick, it could have been a barn burner. But I’m happy. I want to climb the ladder here in Bellator. If there is an opening in this tournament, I’ll gladly step in.

"I feel great at the moment. Fighting is 90 percent mental and the first half of my career, I didn’t have the head for it. But now I’m putting everything together, I feel great and I’m performing. I’m ready, I’ll fight anybody.

On the BAMMA 33 portion of the card, Geordie Shore Reality tv star Aaron Chalmers took a stunning first round KO victory over Karl Donaldson. 

Historically, this was the last MMA event on SPIKE television, which first aired the sport on mainstream television in America, and on which the sport had its first major burst of publicity with The Ultimate Fighter. SPIKE is rebranded as 'Paramount' by media giants VIACOM on January 18, and an important period in the sport's history will draw to a close.