Bellator yesterday announced that the headliner for the Nov. 15 Bellator 108 show will be a three-round bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and the newly-signed Joey Beltran, who was cut from the UFC a few weeks ago following a decision loss to Fabio Maldonado at UFC Fight Night 29. The fight announcement was immediately met with skepticism from the MMA community, as, for all his faults, “Rampage” is still a top 15 – top 20 light heavyweight in the world. Beltran, on the other hand, is 1-2 with 1 NC as a light heavyweight, and before the fight against Maldonado he had been on the sidelines for nine months while serving a drug suspension. At best, he’s top 50 in the world. I understand Bellator was in a bad spot after Tito Ortiz pulled out of the fight against “Rampage” with an injury, but I would have preferred had they looked within their own organization to find an opponent for Jackson rather than going on the free agent market and signing a “UFC washout” like Beltran. Fighters like Christian M’Pumbu and Mikhail Zayats are just two of the light heavyweights that Bellator currently has under contract that they could have thrown in the cage with Jackson. Instead, they are giving “Rampage” an easier fight against Beltran, who has gone away from his brawling style since moving to 205 and who is essentially a fence clincher at this point. This is a bad matchup for Beltran, who will struggle to get Jackson to the ground and who is at a big disadvantage in the standup. As such, look for the line on Jackson to be very long, perhaps in the -700 range with the comeback on Beltran at +500. And it will be for good reason if the line does open that long, because this is a showcase fight for “Rampage” in every sense of the word. And for Bellator’s sake, let’s hope he takes this fight seriously. Spencer In For Injured Cummings At TUF Finale An injury note to pass along to you, as welterweight Zak Cummings pulled out of his TUF 18 Finale match against Sergio Moraes with an injury and has been replaced by Sean Spencer. Spencer vs. Moraes is a fun fight, but look for Moraes to enter as a slight favorite when the betting lines open due to his superior ground game that can end any fight that hits the mat in a flash. Martins/Eduardo Scratched From UFC Fight Night 32 The UFC yesterday announced that bantamweights Lucas Martins and Johnny Eduardo are both injured and their matchup has been scratched from next week’s UFC Fight Night 32 card. FOXSports.com broke the news. With only a week until the week, the UFC has decided not to add another fight to the card, and the event will go on with 11 bouts.
