Rampage Jackson, M’Pumbu, King Mo and Zayats headline with Light Heavyweight Semifinals: Nunes, Richman, and Weichel Lead Featherweight Pack
Newport Beach, Cailf. (January 29, 2014) – Bellator MMA returns to Spike TV in explosive fashion as the promotion kicks off its tenth season Friday, February 28 at 9pm EST/PST. The event features MMA superstar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a Light Heavyweight opening round battle with former World 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 and a card full of local talent.
Bellator 110 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, Bellator.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office.
Two of Connecticut’s best will battle as Andrew Calandrelli will fight fellow Connecticut native Ryan Quinn in hopes to improve his two-fight win streak. Calandrelli has won three of his last four victories via submission, but will have to hold off Quinn who maintains a perfect 5-0 Bellator record.
After making his Bellator debut in September and defeating Parker Porter with a first round KO, Josh Diekman will return to the cage and face Chris Birchler. Looking to finish the fight as quickly as possible, Diekman has won 13 of his 14 professional victories by first round finish.
Combining for 56 professional fights, Egidijus Valavicius will face Atanas Djambazov in a battle of light heavyweights. Valavicius has won seven of his previous eight fights and is looking to grab another knockout against Djambazov on February 28th.
After recording his first professional victory against Glenn Allaire by first round knockout at Bellator 98, Rico Disciullo will face Jake Smith. Putting his talents to the test, Smith will step under the bright lights for the first time and make his professional debut in a bantamweight battle against Disciullo.
No stranger to the MMA game, Dave Roberts will return to the cage after a six years absence from the sport and will fight the heavy-handed Pat Schultz. Known for his knockout power, Schultz has won seven of his eight professional victories by knockout, four coming in the first round.
Nine of New England’s premier athletes will be featured on the preliminary card and all of the preliminary fights will be streamed live and free on Spike.com starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.
The full fight card is listed below.
BELLATOR 110 MAIN CARD:
Bellator Light Heavyweight Semifinal: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (33-11) vs. Christian M’Pumbu (18-5)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Semifinal: King Mo Lawal (11-3) vs. Mikhail Zayats (22-7)
Bellator Featherweight Opening Round: Diego Nunes (18-5) vs. Matt Bessette (12-4)
Bellator Featherweight Opening Round: Mike Richman (16-3) vs. Desmond Green (9-2)
Bellator Featherweight Opening Round: Daniel Weichel (31-8) vs. Scott Cleve (14-3)
BELLATOR 110 PRELIMINARY CARD:
Bellator Featherweight Opening Round: Goiti Yamauchi (16-1) vs. Will Martinez (8-2)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Egidijus Valavicius (25-10) vs. Atanas Djambazov (18-3)
Featherweight Feature Fight: Andrew Fisher (12-5-1) vs. Saul Almeida (13-5)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Ryan Quinn (8-4-1) vs. Andrew Calandrelli (6-3)
Heavyweight Feature Fight: Chris Birchler (5-1) vs. Josh Diekman (14-5)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Jake Smith (Debut) vs. Rico DiSciullo (1-0)
Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Pat Schultz (8-2-1) vs. Dave Roberts (5-8)
