The heat between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal continues to get hotter as they approach their pay-per-view headlining bout at Bellator 120 on Saturday.
After weighing in for the fight, Jackson and Lawal had words with each other during their staredown photo. The conflict culminated in Jackson shoving Lawal back into a member of the Bellator security team. Bellator President Bjorn Rebney stepped between the two, and members of the fighters’ entourages ended the incident.
Lawal and Jackson have had a heated rivalry since Bellator 110, when Lawal beat Mikhail Zayats and Jackson beat Christian M’Pumbu to advance to the finals of the Season 10 light heavyweight tournament. The victories set them up for a showdown to decide who would face Bellator’s light heavyweight champion, Emanuel Newton, for a shot at the belt. When Lawal was brought into the cage for the standard showdown, the two had to be held back following an eruption from Jackson.
The two former Zuffa champs (Lawal was the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Jackson was the UFC light heavyweight champion) have actually been on-and-off beefing for several years now. In 2009 they exchanged heated words, which started up their cross-promotional rivalry. They would go on to settle their differences in 2012, but their impending bout seems to have reignited things.
It’s worth noting that many have questioned the legitimacy of their rivalry. Mike Mazzulli, head of the commission that oversaw Bellator 110, implied (h/t Cage Potato) that the initial in-cage scuffle between the two was planned.
Rampage and King Mo face off at Bellator 120 this Saturday. Stick with Bleacher Report for more details on the event.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com