Bellator 110 at Mohegan Sun: Rampage comes to CT, Bessette comes out and more for Season 10

Feb. 28 will be an exciting night for MMA fans in Connecticut.

Bellator will be staging another event at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville that evening and it is obviously attracting much attention due to the presence of MMA legend Quenton "Rampage" Jackson (18-5) on the card. Reports that he came in a fraction of a pound over the limit have not kept him out of the event, which features a main card that will be aired on Spike TV.

Ironically, Jackson lost his last fight in the UFC to a Connecticut resident; Glover Teixeira (22-2), who will tentatively fight UFC lightheavyweight champion Jon Jones in April. Jackson will fight Christian M'Pumbu (18-5) at Mohegan in the semifinals of Bellator's current lightheavyweight tournament.

Jackson, who has publicly praised the working conditions with Bellator, is considered by many to be in the final phase of his career. However, he looked pretty good on November 15 as he knocked out Joey Beltran in the first round during Bellator 108 and has drawn much attention to the promotion. Does he have enough left to progress in this tournament? And will this position Bellator to be a legitimate competitor with the UFC, which is a notion that appears to be dividing the opinions of media and fans?

But the presence of Jackson on the card is just one of the items of interest for Connecticut area fans because Matt "the Mangler" Bessette (12-4), who has made a name for himself in our state as a lightweight competitor for Reality Fighting, will enter the national stage in Bellator's featherweight tournament. Bessette, who is rapidly gaining national attention, will fight Diego Nunes (18-5). A victory here may put him in the spotlight not only with Teixiera but Waterford's Brennan Ward (9-1), who also fights with Bellator, and Milforld's Nick Newell (11-0) who fights for World Series of Fighting.

The preliminary card will also feature a few familiar faces such as Josh "Freight Train" Diekman (13-6) of Groton, former Danbury resident Ryan Quinn (8-4-1) and East Haven's Andrew Calandrelli (6-3). The lightweight battle between Quinn and Calandrelli was rescheduled from Bellator's previous event at Mohegan Sun on September 7. Diekman defeated Reality Fighting veteran Parker Porter (5-4) of Southington during the same event and will face fellow heavyweight Manny Lara (4-4).

Diekman seemed to really excite the crowd in Uncasville during his last appearance and will no doubt be well received again. There is also a lot of anticipation regarding the Calandrelli/Quinn fight; both have solid reputations and Calandrelli has trained under ADCC veteran Marcelo Garcia.

The tournament will also feature a bout betwen former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (11-3) and Mikhail Zayats (22-7).

The rest of the featherweight tournament consists of bouts between; Mike Richman (16-3) and Desmond Green (8-2); Daniel Weichel (31-8) and Scott Cleve (13-3); and Goiti Yamauchi (16-1) and Will Martinez (7-2-1). The Richman/Green and Weichel/Cleve bouts will appear on the preliminary card, according to information from Bellator.

Other prelimary fights include Egidijus Valavicius and Atanas Djambazov at light heavyweight, Andrew Fisher and Saul Almeida at featherweight, and Marvin Maldonado and Rico DiSciullo at bantamweight. More information on these fighters will be available during our coverage of the event.

Bellator reported that a prelimary fight between light heavyweights Pat Schultz and Dave Roberts was cancelled. Sources stated that Roberts could not make weight and will not compete.