Rebney believes 'Rampage' can be one of MMA's biggest stars for Bellator

MEMPHIS – Bjorn Rebney and Bellator had a thought in mind when they signed Quinton Jackson in 2013.

That thought was that “Rampage” could become one of the best fighters in the world again. Tonight, Jackson has, if nothing else, an opportunity to stay on that path.

Jackson (34-11 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) meets Muhammed Lawal (12-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) in the Bellator 120 main event, and there’s some pressure on him. He’s being asked to headline a card in his backyard. He’s being asked to headline Bellator’s first pay-per-view. And he’s being asked to live up at the expectations put on him when he signed with the promotion.

Bellator 120 takes place tonight at Landers Center in Southaven, Miss., just south of Memphis. The main card airs on pay-per-view after prelims on Spike TV and Spike.com.

After Jackson dropped three straight fights to close his UFC career, “Rampage” has won back-to-back fights in Bellator by knockout. He’s a 2-to-1 favorite to beat “King Mo” tonight.

Rebney believes the difference between Jackson now and the tail end of his UFC career is a matter of health – and a matter of happiness.

“It’s a combination of a few things,” Rebney told MMAjunkie. “One of the issues was his knees. We went to the foremost specialist in the world to get his knees fixed. So that was No. 1, because without your physical health and ability, you can’t pull the trigger and you can’t be the fighter you want to be.

“Secondly was about bringing a lot of things together for ‘Rampage’ that he wanted to have happen in terms of entertainment opportunities, television opportunities, film opportunities. I think what we were able to do is relight the spark in terms of love for the game. He’s enthusiastic, he loves the game again, he’s healthy again – all the pieces are there. I always believed that if ‘Rampage’ came back and had everything the way it needed to be, he could rekindle that fire and be one of the greatest fighters in the world. We’ve seen he can, and this is a huge test he’s got on Saturday.”

Jackson and Lawal have talked plenty in the buildup to their fight, which was elevated from the co-feature to the main event after the Michael Chandler-Eddie Alvarez fight fell off with an Alvarez concussion.

On Friday, Jackson shoved Lawal during their face off at the official weigh-ins. That helped keep a little of the buzz on, especially in front of Jackson’s home fans.

But Rebney said no matter where Bellator might have done its first pay-per-view, Jackson would have found a place on the card.

“Rampage is as big as it gets, so it wouldn’t have mattered where we brought it,” Rebney said. “He came to me and said, ‘I think Memphis would be great, and here’s why.’ We checked it out, the location was great and everything worked. But he would’ve been on the (pay-per-view) regardless of where it was.

On Saturday night, “Rampage” can get the biggest win of his Bellator career and biggest win since he beat Lyoto Machida more than three and a half years ago.

For the latest on Bellator 120, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.