After a tumultuous time in Bellator, Quentin “Rampage” Jackson sought to head back to the UFC. Citing breach of contract by Bellator, Jackson signed on with the UFC and was slated to fight Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 in Montreal. However, Bellator sought to prevent that from happening.
In early March, Bellator filed a lawsuit against Jackson for breach of contract. It sought an injunction to halt Jackson from appearing on the UFC card. In the lawsuit, it revealed a lavish amount of contact incentives provided by Bellator to Rampage.
Bellator issued the following release in light of its lawsuit:
Today, Bellator MMA was compelled to go to court to stop Quinton “Rampage” Jackson from fighting in an April 25th bout promoted by Bellator’s competitor, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Jackson, who has completed only three fights of his exclusive six-fight contract with Bellator, is barred by contract from fighting for any promoter other than Bellator. Our lawsuit for an injunction and related relief – filed in the Chancery Division of the Superior Court in Burlington County, New Jersey – will compel Jackson to honor his contractual agreement. We look forward to having one of our MMA stars fighting for Bellator again.
Jackson claimed that he had conferred with outside legal counsel as well as UFC lawyers when deciding to sign on with the UFC. He claimed that Bellator did not live up to its end of its contract and, as a result, he was able to sever the relationship without legal recourse. Of course, that was not the case. In fact, a New Jersey Court sided with Bellator MMA in finding in favor of the organization in determining it would be harmed if the fighter appeared on a UFC show and terminated his contract with the Viacom-owned organization.
The trial court ruling is here.
Notably, prior to the ruling, Rampage appeared on UFC Fight Night 63 to promote the fight. This left the UFC in a bad spot.
The UFC issued a statement which distanced itself from Jackson but indicated that Jackson may consider an “emergency appeal.” As we know, he did.
However, sort of flying under the radar of most, an appeal of the trial court ruling on the injunction allowed Rampage back on the card for UFC 186. The Appellate Court in New Jersey, in overturning the injunction, indicated that any irreparable harm that may be suffered by Bellator due to Jackson fighting on the UFC card was just “vague speculation.”
At this point, Rampage, as far as we know, is still dealing with the Bellator lawsuit and he has not scheduled to be on any card with any organization. Jackson indicated that a mediation Bellator wanted him to settle but he would not fight again. The lawsuit filed by Bellator foreshadows the possibility of a fight over fighters between organizations. In addition, the Rampage contract reveals two things. First, Viacom is capable of providing incentives to Bellator fighters that the UFC cannot at this point. Of course, it depends on whether Viacom wants to do it or not. Secondly, it shows the business dealings of former Bellator head Bjorn Rebney who brokered the Rampage deal. Will Bellator be able to use help from Viacom to entice free agents such as Benson Henderson and Ajamain Sterling to join the organization? We shall see.
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