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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Tito Ortiz hit Bristol, Conn. on Monday to promote their Nov. 2 pay-per-view fight with Bellator, appearing on ESPN in a number of spots to talk about the fight. That was a welcome departure from previous appearances regarding the fight, which have seen both Jackson and Ortiz spend as much time discussing their issues with the UFC as they did on Bellator and the matchup itself.
For Jackson, he sees this as a fight to give Bellator more exposure than they've had to date, a fight which will give them attention they may not have been getting before.
"This is a good time right now," Jackson said (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "We just signed with Bellator, and I want to help put Bellator on the map. Why not do it with a legend with someone like Tito?"
The past friendship between the two has been played up ahead of the fight, with them both saying they're taking this fight for business and because they think it's something that will be beneficial for all involved.
"Over the last five years after, we bettered ourselves by fighting other fighters... That's what makes this match so intriguing for the fighters to watch," Ortiz said. You want to see two of the best fighters compete against each other? I'm healthier. My mind's set on a great positive right now, he's in a great place, and I think fans want to see a great fight, which they'll see on Nov. 2."
Penick's Analysis: Bellator was already on the map before this fight, and that's why there's been a lot of backlash against it. While they haven't been drawing insane numbers, they've been respectable in the MMA landscape on Spike TV, with the concept that they've pushed from the beginning. They've sold that out under Viacom in a number of ways, and while this fight is bringing attention, a lot of it has been negative, and it's not helping showcase what Bellator has to offer on a regular basis. It's a hot shot fight to go on pay-per-view - a move which doesn't have a clear motive or payoff - and it's a major risk for them to put so much into two fighters who were great in their day, but have been past that level for some time.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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