SAN JOSE, Calif. – Jon Fitch believes he deserved to get the nod in his welterweight championship bout with Rory MacDonald at Bellator 220. He didn’t, though, and now he doesn’t know where he goes from here.

Fitch (32-7-2 MMA, 1-0-1 BMMA) fought MacDonald (20-5-1 MMA, 2-1-1 BMMA) to a majority draw in Saturday’s headliner, which took place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The fight served as an opening-round bout in the Bellator welterweight grand prix, so not only did MacDonald retain his belt, but he also moved to the semifinals for a matchup with Neiman Gracie.

That situation would be enough to generate frustration for a lot of fighters. Fitch, however, took it in stride.

“I’m good,” Fitch told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at Bellator 220. “Could be better. Could have nine pounds of metal around my waist right now, but I’m the people’s champ. I thought I won, thought I did enough to win. It was a tough fight, it was a good fight, but the judges didn’t see it the way I thought it was going.

“Two judges thought it was a draw, one thought I won it. In my head, I won it. Not much you can do about it. It doesn’t make or break me. It was a good performance.”

Fitch was largely able to execute his gameplan against MacDonald. In classic fashion, he would close the distance and work on takedowns with mixed success. He had to take some big shots over the course of five rounds, but Fitch said MacDonald “didn’t hit hard,” and outside of one shot that rocked him, he was able to fight how he wanted.

The performance and draw were somewhat overshadowed immediately after the fight, though, because MacDonald gave a post-fight interview where he raised questions about his fighting future.

There is a legitimate possibility MacDonald isn’t prepared to fight Gracie (9-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) in the tournament semifinals on June 14 in New York, which would mean a decision would then have to be made by the Bellator brass, including the possibility of bringing Fitch back.

That idea sounds compelling to Fitch, he said, and might be the only thing that could truly get him back in the cage. He revealed that retirement is a serious possibility post-fight at Bellator 220, but Fitch is dealing with an inner conflict of his own.

“If he can’t do it I, guess that would be the way to go,” Fitch said. “I told myself and made a promise to myself before I fought Jake Shields, because I was having a lot of health issues with my neck and I had a bad brain scan, that if I lost that fight, I was done, and it was going to be the end for me. I won, so I kept going. I’ve made the same promise with myself every fight. I’m in a position now where I didn’t lose, so technically I don’t know if I should keep that promise to myself or not. But there’s a good chance this is my last fight.”

Fitch said ultimately his future will be decided on how the situation plays out. If the phone doesn’t ring for a replacement opportunity, it could mean the end of his storied fighting career. If it does, though, he said he could envision himself jumping right back into camp.

“If I get offered the Neiman Gracie fight, it’s going to be hard to turn down an opportunity to win $1 million and another chance to win a belt,” Fitch said. “We’ll see.”

To hear more from Fitch, check out the video above.

For complete coverage of Bellator 220, check out the MMA Events section of the site.