Rampage Jackson returns to Bellator, settling contract dispute
Bellator and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have reached an out-of-court settlement on their lawsuit. As part of the agreement Jackson will return to fight in Bellator.
Bellator released the information today stating Jackson’s return is part of an amicable agreement to settle litigation.
Jackson signed with Bellator in 2013 after his UFC contract expired on a joint deal with Spike TV, Bellator and TNA. Jackson was signed to headline a PPV against Tito Ortiz, but due to a neck injury to Ortiz in training, the fight fell through. Jackson won three fights in Bellator, over Joey Beltran, Christian M’Pumbu and King Mo Lawal, the latter a very disputed decision in a grudge match.
On December 20, 2014, UFC announced that Jackson had signed a new deal to return to UFC. Scott Coker, the President of Bellator, immediately stated that Jackson still had multiple fights left on his contract and they filed suit against him.
Jackson had claimed to be a free agent based on a contract breach, claiming he had not gotten a full breakdown of the PPV numbers for the Lawal fight. Bellator officials stated he was told the number and they had publicly released the number at approximately 100,000 buys. Jackson was also unhappy that Bellator had not gotten him movie roles as was talked about in the original contract negotiations.
Bellator originally got an injunction to stop him from fighting in UFC. However, an appellate court in New Jersey overturned the injunction and allowed Jackson to face Fabio Maldonado on 4/25 in Montreal, a fight he won. However, the injunction went back into effect after the fight, and Jackson’s career has been on hold ever since because he did not want to go back to Bellator.
Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.