“Rampage” faces M’Pumbu & “King Mo” battles Zayats in Light Heavyweight Tourney Opening Round February 28th

Newport Beach, Cailf. (January 20, 2014) – Bellator MMA  returns to Spike TV with a bang as the promotion kicks off its tenth season  Friday, February 28 at 9pm ET/PT.  The star-studded card includes the tournament debut of MMA superstar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Emanating from Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun, the night features Rampage in a Light Heavyweight opening round battle with former Champion Christian M’Pumbu, while King Mo Lawal returns to face Russian submission ace Mikhail Zayats. The night will also feature the start of the Season 10 Featherweight Tournament. The official sponsors of Spike TV’s Bellator MMA Season 10 are Miller Lite and Dave & Buster’s.

The event will broadcast live at 9 p.m. EST/ 8 p.m. CST on Spike TV. The preliminary card will be streamed live and free on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. EST/ 6 p.m. CST. Tickets for the event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

After making his mark with his first round knockout victory over Joey Beltran, Rampage is ready to put himself through The Toughest Tournament In Sports and earn a Bellator title shot.

“This is what Bellator is all about,” Rampage said. “I’ve never felt better, and now it’s about getting the belt. Bellator is all about the tournaments, and if that’s what you need to do to get that belt, that’s what I’m going to do. M’Pumbu is up first, and when I finish him, it’s King Mo or Zayats, and then it’s onto the belt, simple as that.”

For Lawal, the former title contender has heard the critics and is looking for vengeance after suffering his second loss to Emanuel Newton. As the tournament moves closer, King Mo only has one thing on his mind. Getting the Bellator Light Heavyweight Title.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m changing up my whole game plan, and you are going to see a new fighter,” Mo said. “That’s just not me. I know what I do, I know who I am, and that’s who you are going to see on February 28^th, plain and simple. Me. It’s all about getting that belt.”

Bellator MMA, which features The Toughest Tournament in Sports, will showcase five tournaments this season in different weight classes including featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. The 12-week season, airing on Fridays at 9pm on Spike TV, will showcase many of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters from around the world in venues spanning across North America.

“Since we first partnered with Quinton, I’ve been working with him to get everything set for his inclusion in a Bellator tournament,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “Working together, we’ve now made that a reality. This is without question the deepest Light Heavyweight Tournament we’ve ever done.  Rampage, M’Pumbu, Zayats and Mo are all monsters and I can’t think of a better way to kick off our tenth season on Spike.”

Additional fight card information for Bellator 110 will be made available in the coming weeks.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA           

About Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 115 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom.  In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 175 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes.  Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula.  Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.  Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.