After Tito Ortiz suffered a fractured neck and was forced out of their Nov. 2 Bellator pay-per-view, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will now face former UFC light heavyweight Joey Beltran.
Bellator officials announced on Wednesday that Jackson and Beltran will fight on the Nov. 15 Bellator card, which takes place in Atlantic City, N.J. and airs on Spike TV.
“I want to thank Joey Beltran for stepping up for the fight so I can get my first Bellator victory out of the way,” Rampage said in a statement. “He’ll have the unfortunate honor of taking the ass whooping I was going to give Tito. My body is in incredible shape right now. I feel like I did in PRIDE, and Joey Beltran is the right guy to put on an exciting fight and showcase what I’ve been working on.”
Beltran was recently released from the UFC for a second time, following a split-decision loss to Fabio Maldonado at UFC Fight Night 29. The release from the organization was Beltran’s second, the first coming after a knockout loss to Lavar Johnson at UFC on FOX 2.
Before agreeing to fight Rampage in Bellator, Beltran revealed that the last 30 days have emotionally gone up and down.
“This last month has been an absolute roller coaster of emotion,” Beltran said in a statement. “I’ve always been a warrior and thank god for my family and my teammates at Alliance MMA for keeping me focused and dedicated. I’ve always known that good things will happen to me if you put in the hard work and keep grinding, and that’s exactly what has happened with this opportunity. I fought for Bellator in 2009 when they were just starting out on ESPN, and I was fairly new on the scene as well. I loved my time there, and I couldn’t be happier to be back.”
Beltran’s first stint with Bellator lasted one fight and was a 2009 knockout win over Sherman Pendergarst, a victory he picked up in the first round.
