Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has a new opponent for his Bellator MMA debut as he will meet former UFC fighter Joey Beltran in the main event of Bellator 108 on November 15th in Atlantic City.
Bellator MMA announced the fight on Wednesday and tickets are currently on sale for the event.
Bellator 108 will take place from the Revel Casino in Atlantic City on November 15th and will also feature Alexander Shlemenko defending the Bellator middleweight title against Doug Marshall.
“It’s been a long time coming to get Rampage into the Bellator cage, and on November 15th from Revel, we are going to see fireworks between Rampage and Joey Beltran,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “Joey showed his warrior spirit by taking this fight on just over 2 weeks notice, and having seen Joey fight many times, and seeing what type of shape Rampage is in, this is a fight I can’t wait to see.”
Jackson (32-11) was scheduled to face Tito Ortiz this weekend at Bellator 106, but an injury forced Bellator to cancel the fight and look for a new opponent. When Jackson steps into the cage in two weeks, he will be looking to snap a three fight losing streak and get his first win since 2011.
“I want to thank Joey Beltran for stepping up for the fight so I can get my first Bellator victory out of the way,” Jackson said. “He’ll have the unfortunate honor of taking the ass whooping I was going to give Tito. My body is in incredible shape right now. I feel like I did in PRIDE, and Joey Beltran is the right guy to put on an exciting fight and showcase what I’ve been working on.”
Beltran (14-9, 1NC) was recently released by the UFC after his split decision lost to Fabio Maldonado at UFC Fight Night 29. He is 2-6, 1NC in his last night and is 1-2, 1NC since dropping down to the light heavyweight division.
“This last month has been an absolute roller coaster of emotion,” Beltran said. “I’ve always been a warrior and thank god for my family and my teammates at Alliance MMA for keeping me focused and dedicated. I’ve always known that good things will happen to me if you put in the hard work and keep grinding, and that’s exactly what has happened with this opportunity. I fought for Bellator in 2009 when they were just starting out on ESPN, and I was fairly new on the scene as well. I loved my time there, and I couldn’t be happier to be back.”
“Getting the chance to fight Rampage is just a tremendous opportunity. This is my Rocky Balboa moment. A win against one of the best and well known fighters in the world would be an incredible accomplishment, and I’m not taking it lightly. Rampage better be prepared and ready for this fight. I’m prepared to go through hell during this fight. There will be blood. Someone is going to get hurt. This is my home now, and I don’t want to go anywhere. It’s Rampage first, then a Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament, and then onto the title.”
The current Bellator 108: Rampage vs. Beltran card is below.
Main Card: (Spike TV – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Quinton Jackson (32-11) vs. Joey Beltran (14-9, 1NC)
Alexander Shlemenko (48-7) vs. Doug Marshall (18-6)
Patricio Pitbull (20-2) vs. Justin Wilcox (13-5)
Marcos Galvao (14-6-1) vs. Tom McKenna (7-3)
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT)
Nah’Shon Burrell (9-3) vs. Dante Rivera (15-7)
Chip Moraza-Pollard (7-4) vs. Sam Oropeza (8-2)
Jason Lambert (26-12) vs. Tom DeBlass (8-2)
Kevin Roddy (13-14-1) vs. Will Martinez (6-2-1)
Najim Wali (3-2) vs. Liam McGeary (6-0)
Anthony Morrison (17-10) vs. Kenny Foster (10-7)
Dan Matala (debut) vs. Ryan Cafaro (debut)
Sergio da Silva (1-4) vs. Rob Sullivan (2-1)