The season ten debut of Bellator MMA is now official as Bellator 110 will take place from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut on February 28th and will feature the opening round bouts in the next light heavyweight tournament. 
This will be a four man tournament with the opening round bouts being Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Christian M’Pumbu and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Mikhail Zayats.
The event was officially announced by Bellator MMA Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney during a conference call on Monday.
“Since we first partnered with Quinton, I’ve been working with him to get everything set for his inclusion in a Bellator tournament,” 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.”
Jackson (33-11) made his Bellator debut in November and defeated Joey Beltran by TKO with one second left in the first round. The victory snapped a three fight losing streak and it was his first victory by TKO/KO since 2008, which was a victory against Wanderlei Silva.
“This is what Bellator is all about,” Jackson 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.”
M’Pumbu (15-5-1) is the former Bellator light heavyweight champion and this will be his first fight since losing the title to Attila Vegh at Bellator 91 on February 28, 2013. Prior to losing the title, he was defeated by Travis Wiuff in a non-title fight and his last win took place in 2011 against Rich Hale.
Lawal (11-3, 1NC) will be entering his third Bellator light heavyweight tournament and is coming off a decision defeat to Emanuel Newton at Bellator 106 for the interim light heavyweight title. Since entering Bellator last year, he has gone 3-2 and all of his wins have come by TKO/KO including a third round win against Jacob Noe to win the Summer Series tournament.
“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.”
Zayats (22-7) was a finalist during the season eight light heavyweight tournament and has won three of his four fights in Bellator. After losing to Newton in the tournament final last year, he returned at Bellator 103 and defeated Aaron Rosa by kimura submission in the first round.
Bellator 110 will broadcast live at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT on Spike TV and the preliminary card will be streamed live on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT. Tickets for the event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office.
The complete fight card will be announced shortly by Bellator MMA and the card is also expected to have the opening round bouts of the season ten featherweight tournament.