In an odd outcome, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in a unanimous decision at Bellator 120.All three judges scored it 29-28 for Jackson. With the win, Rampage took the light heavyweight tournament and earned himself a s…
In an odd outcome, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in a unanimous decision at Bellator 120.
All three judges scored it 29-28 for Jackson.
With the win, Rampage took the light heavyweight tournament and earned himself a shot at light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton.
But he didn’t seem happy with the result. Per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, during the post-fight interview Rampage said:
King Mo was clearly dissatisfied with the decision. He called out Bellator head man Bjorn Rebney. Fox Sports’ Damon Martin captured that and other wild post-fight events:
Mo had legitimate beef with the decision. It did appear that he deserved to win the bout.
In the first round, he dominated most of the time with his takedowns and top control. Rampage couldn’t get to his feet until later in the round.
Once he did, it was too late to capture Round 1.
In the second round, Rampage’s power and boxing became factors. His jab and uppercuts opened up a nasty gash over Mo’s eye. There was also significant swelling under it as well.
Mo had brief moments, but it appeared Rampage took the round.
In an uneventful third round, Mo seemed to do the best work. He scored a takedown that should have been the difference in the round. Instead, the judges saw it the other way.
It wasn’t the worst decision, but it was certainly debatable.
Rampage will get his shot at the light heavyweight title, but some time down the line, it seems like he and King Mo need to meet again.
It’s hard to tell which direction Mo should go at this point. He could continue to battle in hopes of getting another shot at Rampage.
The city of Memphis has declared today, May 17, as a day to recognize Quinton “Rampage” Jackson leading up to his Bellator Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament Final bout against Muhammed Lawal.
Bellator’s official Twitter page posted the official pr…
The city of Memphis has declared today, May 17, as a day to recognize Quinton “Rampage” Jackson leading up to his Bellator Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament Final bout against MuhammedLawal.
Bellator‘s official Twitter page posted the official proclamation written by the Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, A C Wharton, this afternoon.
Jackson is obviously getting a lot of support from his hometown as he returns to the cage for the second time this year after injuries only allowed him three fights between 2012 and 2013.
“Now, therefore, I AC Wharton, Jr., Mayor of the city of Memphis, Tennessee, do hereby proclaim May 17, 2014 as a day to recognize Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and I encourage all citizens to welcome Quinton “Rampage” Jackson back to the city of Memphis and offer our support to one of our very own,” the proclamation says.
After losing three consecutive UFC fights between September 2011 and January 2013, the former Pride and UFC champ has rebounded with back-to-back knockouts over Joey Beltran and Christian M’pumbu in the Bellator cage.
Meanwhile, Lawal, a former Strikeforce titleholder, has gone 4-2 under the Bellator banner, with both losses coming at the hands of interim Bellator light heavyweight champ Emanuel Newton.
Most recently, “King Mo” won a decision over Mikhail Zayats in the tournament semifinals back in February.
At the weigh-ins, Rampage and Lawal exchanged words, culminating in Jackson shoving his upcoming opponent, though many pundits believed the interaction appeared at least partially staged, per MMA Fighting.
Bellator 120, the promotion’s first pay-per-view event, takes place at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, this evening and is headlined by Rampage vs. Lawal.
Also featured on the main card is Bellator middleweight champ Alexander Shlemenko bumping up to 205 pounds to square off with UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, while the Bellator interim lightweight title will be decided when Michael Chandler faces Will Brooks.
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com
Bellator’s inaugural pay-per-view event on Saturday night features a loaded card highlighted by what will surely be a violent showdown between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
The promotion is pulling out its biggest guns possibl…
Bellator’s inaugural pay-per-view event on Saturday night features a loaded card highlighted by what will surely be a violent showdown between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
The promotion is pulling out its biggest guns possible, as expected. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney expects a major turnout, as captured by Bob Bakken of desototimestribune.com:
“It’s going to be a packed house,” he said. “The lower bowl is going to be completely packed and the upper bowl is filling up right now. It will be a packed, loud, crazy house with Rampage here coming home. The response has been unbelievable.”
The card is stacked from top to bottom, but the main event is what will steal the show and potentially make the event a success from a financial standpoint. Jackson and Lawal have a lengthy history, and watching things come to a head at this stage of their careers is still worth the time investment.
Let’s take a look at the details surrounding the highly anticipated event and break down the biggest fight of the night.
Bellator 120
Where:Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi
When: 6:30 p.m. ET, Main Card at 10 p.m.
Predictions
It’s safe to say Rampage and King Mo don’t like each other too much. This was apparent yet again when the two got physical at the weigh-ins for the event, as captured by MMAWeekly.com on Twitter:
While this fight is a tough sell due to both fighters being so deep into their careers, there will still be some entertaining stand-up action on display.
Make no mistake, King Mo will run away with the fight with relative ease if he takes things to the mat and wrestles. But will he?
Doubtful.
Lawal has continued to get better with each fight after a bout with staph infections, but he has yet to put everything together in one cohesive package.
It’s a battle of contrasting styles on Saturday night. Rampage was great on the mat early in his career, but his departure from UFC in part had to do with his desire to act as more of a striker. He’s got a great chin, so his standing in there and hurting King Mo while upright would not come as a surprise.
As Josh Gross of DWNLA notes, it is Jackson who can save the first Bellator pay-per-view from being a disappointment:
Jackson will uphold his end of the bargain. He has not lost by TKO or KO since 2005. Lawal on the other hand has lost twice in the past four years via strikes.
Considering Jackson has not lost much power, still has a great jaw and can do much to counter Lawal‘s wrestling advances, expect him to score a major win and move on to face current champion, Emanuel Newton.
After years of bad blood, it was inevitable. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal were destined to cross paths in a cage for some mixed martial arts promotion.
Bellator is the brand that will present the fight to the public. Saturday,…
After years of bad blood, it was inevitable. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal were destined to cross paths in a cage for some mixed martial arts promotion.
Bellator is the brand that will present the fight to the public. Saturday, May 17, is the day, and the Landers Center in Memphis, Tennessee, is the place.
The Rampage-King Mo clash is the main event for the Bellator 120 pay-per-view card. Though it’s not a matchup of two of the best fighters in the world, the bout could be explosive.
Rampage isn’t the only past-his-prime, former UFC great on the card. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz will take on Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko.
Cheick Kongo will also put his all-or-nothing skills to the test against Eric Smith.
Here’s a look at the card, viewing information and predictions. Just below the table is a closer look at the three biggest bouts on the card.
Bellator 120 Viewing Information, Card and Predictions
When you consider how great Ortiz was in his prime (longest reigning light heayyweight champion in UFC history), it’s sad to see and hear how much of a joke he has become to many in the MMA community.
MMA Roasted’s tweet below was just one of the many pokes taken at Ortiz in social media this week:
A laundry list of injuries has led to countless cancellations and nearly two years away from competition. With a few of the distractions and injuries seemingly behind him, Ortiz appears to be in the best shape he’s been in for years.
He tweeted this message and image on Thursday.
Even though he’ll likely be in good shape, Ortiz’s outlook against Shlemenko isn’t great.
Ortiz’s only chance to win this fight is to catch Shlemenko with something big early. The fight is taking place at light heavyweight, and that could give Ortiz an advantage over Shlemenko, who is the reigning middleweight champion in Bellator.
That advantage figures to only last so long. Stamina and overall skill favor Shlemenko. His varied striking attacks can wear down opponents—especially the ones who are 39 years old and coming off massive layoffs.
Look for Shlemenko to pick Ortiz apart and hand him a humbling defeat via TKO.
Chandler vs. Brooks
This could easily be the best fight on the card. Both Chandler and Brooks are good, young talents who figure to be in the title picture at lightweight for the foreseeable future. Chandler just lost his title by a controversial split decision to Eddie Alvarez in his last bout.
He’s eager to get back in the cage with Alvarez for what would be a rubber match. Before that can happen, Chandler has to tangle with Brooks.
Chandler’s chin, will and takedowns are his best attributes. He’s relentless in his pursuit, and he transitions from strikes to grappling very well.
Brooks will have to be on guard for the takedown attempts throughout the fight. He has the length and speed advantage, but Chandler is adept at countering strikes with parries and hard takedowns.
While Chandler was able to do this consistently against Alvarez, he won’t have as much success against Brooks.
The latter possesses the quickness and length at 5’11” to keep Chandler at bay. By the end of the second round, Chandler’s face will begin to break up from Brooks’ power shots.
That will lead to the stoppage and win for “Ill Will.”
Jackson vs. Lawal
These two are perhaps the most colorful and polarizing figures in MMA this side of ChaelSonnen.
Both men understand that personality is as much a part of becoming a star in the sport as technique and ability. While Rampage is past his prime, and King Mo has also arguably seen his best days come and go, the two men’s names still draw a crowd on a card.
Match them together, and it becomes the closest thing to a must-see fight Bellator has ever had. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
Lawal could make this a very boring fight. If he chooses to take Rampage to the mat, he could probably dominate him with top position.
To appease fans and Bellator matchmakers, King Mo will probably keep it standing. That decision will be to his detriment. Even though Rampage is not the same destructive force he once was, he’s still a more dangerous and durable striker than King Mo.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Quinton Jackson (205.9) vs. Muhammed Lawal (205.6) – light heavyweight tournament final
Will Brooks (154.2) vs. Michael Chandler (154.9) – for interim lightweight title
Tito Ortiz (205.5) vs. Alexander Shlemenko (201.9) – non-title fight
Blagoi Ivanov (249.5) vs. Alexander Volkov (236.1) – heavyweight tournament final
Michael Page (170.5) vs. Ricky Rainey (170.1)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV, 8 p.m. ET)
Cheick Kongo (235) vs. Eric Smith (253.8)
Marcin Held (158) vs. Nate Jolly (158) – 158-pound catchweight
Fabricio Guerreiro (147.9) vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev (145.1) – 148-pound catchweight
Mike Richman (145.5) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (145.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 6 p.m. ET)
Austin Lyons (152.4) vs. Zach Underwood (152.3) – 153-pound catchweight
Justin Frazier (264.5) vs. Mike Wessel (257.9)
Ben Brewer (170.2) vs. Andy Uhrich (170.5)
Anthony Lemon (170) vs. Codie Shuffield (170)
Brian Hall (125.6) vs. Cortez Phelia (125.6)
On Saturday night, Bellator will have its first-ever pay-per-view, featuring an interim lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Will Brooks and a main event pitting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
These two…
On Saturday night, Bellator will have its first-ever pay-per-view, featuring an interim lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Will Brooks and a main event pitting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Muhammed“King Mo” Lawal.
These two have had bad blood for a while and have been trash talking since Rampage was in the UFC and King Mo was in Strikeforce.
Rampage has a tough fight ahead of him, so let’s take a look at his keys to victory Saturday night.
