Gegard Mousasi to defend Bellator middleweight title against Rory MacDonald in September

Rory MacDonald wanted it. Gegard Mousasi wanted it. And now it’s going to happen.

Mousasi will defend his Bellator middleweight title against welterweight champion Rory MacDonald on Sept. 29 in San Jose, Calif., sources confirmed Thursday with MMA Fighting. ESPNwas the first to report the news of the superfight.

Mousasi (44-6-2) won the Bellator middleweight title by first-round TKO over Rafael Carvalho atBellator 200 last month. The former UFC top contender has won seven straight overall. Mousasi, 32, signed with Bellator last year, leaving the UFC despite being one of the higher ranked middleweights in the world. He was perhaps Bellator’s most significant signing to date.

MacDonald (20-4) has won two in a row since coming over to Bellator from the UFC. The Canadian fighter won the Bellator welterweight title by unanimous decision over Douglas Lima atBellator 192 in January. MacDonald, 28, has won five of his last seven fights and was a title contender in the UFC against Robbie Lawler.

There is no official number placed on the Bellator event yet. San Jose is the longtime home base of Bellator president Scott Coker and big cards come to the city on a regular basis. This main event would be one of the best ones — in terms of quality of fighter — in Bellator history.

Sources also confirmed ESPN’s confirmation that Quinton Jackson will face Wanderlei Silva on the same Bellator card Sept. 29. Silva had posted about it earlier this week on social media.