So last night after the main event at Bellator in Mohegan Sun King Mo came into the ring to confront Rampage Jackson and what looked to be a very staged scuffle between the two happened. The thing is, nobody is buying it no matter what and people are seeing it just as a way to sell tickets and draw interest into the fight between the two. By most reports King Mo and Rampage Jackson are friends and get along pretty well. There have been hints throughout today that the fight was staged, including a statement from Mohegan Sun’s Mike Mazzuli.
Mazzuli initially stated that he knew ahead of time that something was going to go down, then later he clarified that he was told that they’d be in the ring together and that things “might get heated.” I think that it’s clear that Rampage Jackson and King Mo were meant to meet in the ring and that they at least assumed this would happen. [source]
Mazzulli: Basically what they stated, they said, as you know, both fighters get very excited after the fight, and words may be said. Nothing was discussed about a fake fight and being ready to stop it, that was absolutely not the case. The case was that the two fighters get very excited, and if something occurs, we’re going to stop it, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that they’re very emotional after each win. There was nothing about a setup or any of that, absolutely not.
I regulate combative sports. When it comes to the production of the TV and everything, that’s not for me to say unless there’s a safety issue with the fighters. And if something did occur to the point where I felt it was excessive, a sanction would definitely have happened. But I was not told they were going to yell at each other, any of that. I was just informed that both fighters get very – I guess you want to say, “pumped up” – and are very verbal, and everyone knows that they are.