Quinton “Rampage” Jackson signed with the UFC in December after stating he terminated his contract with Bellator and the UFC recently announced that Jackson would be facing Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 on April 25 in Montreal.
On the day that it was announced that Jackson terminated his contract with Bellator and signed with the UFC, Bellator President Scott Coker tweeted that Bellator would “protect our contractual rights.”
On Monday, Bellator announced in a statement that the promotion has filed an injunction in a Superior Court in Burlington County, New Jersey to stop Jackson from competing at UFC 186.
“Today, Bellator MMA was compelled to go to court to stop Quinton “Rampage” Jackson from fighting in an April 25th bout promoted by Bellator’s competitor, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC),” the Bellator statement said. “Jackson, who has completed only three fights of his exclusive six-fight contract with Bellator, is barred by contract from fighting for any promoter other than Bellator. Our lawsuit for an injunction and related relief – filed in the Chancery Division of the Superior Court in Burlington County, New Jersey – will compel Jackson to honor his contractual agreement. We look forward to having one of our MMA stars fighting for Bellator again.”
With Bellator being a California based company, why was this injunction filed in New Jersey? Josh S. Nash of Bloody Elbow tweeted on late Monday morning that Bellator contracts state that contract disputes will be handled by a New Jersey court.
@ZidanSports because Bellator contracts stipulate any contract disputes will be settled in NJ courts much like UFC say Nevada.
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) March 2, 2015
Since Bellator announced their injunction against Rampage from fighting, the Rampage camp or the UFC has not issued any public comment.