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"Rampage" Faces M'Pumbu & "King Mo" Battles Zayats In Light Heavyweight Tourney Opening Round, February 28th At Mohegan Sun

Bellator MMA  returns to Spike TV with a bang as the promotion kicks off its tenth season on Friday, February 28th at 6:30pm at Mohegan Sun Arena.  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.

Tickets are $70.00, $50.00 and $30.00 and are on sale now through Ticketmaster.  Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call any Ticketmaster Charge by Phone number; 1.800.745.3000 or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.  Tickets may also be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Box Office subject to availability.

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The event will broadcast live at 9:00pm EST/ 8:00pm CST on Spike TV. The preliminary card will be streamed live and free on spike.com beginning at 7:00pm EST/ 6:00pm 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.

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“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 28th, 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 9:00pm on Spike TV, will showcase many of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters from around the world in venues spanning across North America.

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

Mohegan Sun Arena is ranked 3rd in the U.S. and 5th in the world by Billboard Magazine and was the 2008 and 2010 recipient of a Country Music Award for “Casino of The Year.” Venues Today also ranked Mohegan Sun Arena #3 in the Nation and #3 in the World for top stops in 2013 and also ranked the Arena in the top six of “Top Stops of The Decade” in 2012. For more information on concerts and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.

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