Rebney: 'Rampage' vs. 'King Mo' tourney final may end up on PPV
Not long after Quinton Jackson knocked out Christian M’Pumbu on Friday night, he had to be separated from Muhammed Lawal in the cage at Bellator 110.
The light heavyweight rivals will meet in the finals of Bellator’s Season 10 205-pound four-man tournament, and the anticipation started to build early thanks to the in-cage near dust-up.
We know “Rampage†and “King Mo†finally will meet. But we don’t know when. Following Friday’s card at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said he’s considering that fight for a spot on the promotion’s first pay-per-view card.
Just before Jackson’s first-round win over M’Pumbu, Rebney announced May 17 as a pay-per-view date for Bellator 120 with Eddie Alvarez-Michael Chandler III in the main event. A location hasn’t yet been announced for the card.
“(Jackson-Lawal on pay-per-view is) sure in the back of my mind,†Rebney said. “It’s been a fight that as an MMA fan, I’ve wanted to see for a long time.â€
Rebney said the anticipation of the fight has been building for a while. Of course, the two were on opposite sides of the four-man bracket, and each needed to win on Friday to set up the grudge match. Lawal took a unanimous decision from Mikhail Zayats in the co-main event.
“They had a long period where they talked a lot of crap among themselves, and then they went on a little bit of a hiatus,†Rebney said. “It just reignited – which I knew would happen because they actually really don’t like each other at all and they just kind of went on this calm hiatus. But it’s great – we’ll see where it goes. I always like to take a breath and see how things unfold and then react.â€
Jackson and Lawal had beef a ways back. A year and a half ago, they managed to to bury the hatchet. But it didn’t appear to last long.
Now Rebney believes he may have an exciting fight on his hands, regardless of where he finds a home for it.
“Stylistically, I like what I see with ‘Rampage’ and ‘Mo.’ Those two guys throwing could make for electricity,†he said.
