Bellator 175 'Rampage vs King Mo 2' recap with results, .gifs and video highlights

Bellator 175 "Rampage vs. King Mo 2" took place last night (Fri., Mar. 31, 2017) at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. The main event was a chance for two old rivals to settle a long-standing score at Light Heavyweight.

The first time they met at Bellator 120, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson got the upper hand over Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in a controversial unanimous decision. Since then, “Rampage” has stated that “King Mo” was only humping his leg while Lawal vowed not to get cheated in the rematch.

The first round was all “King Mo” as Jackson backpedaled and crouched trying to stop Lawal from getting the takedown. It didn’t work. Jackson tried to get up and that didn’t work either. Lawal cinched his hands around Jackson’s waist once he finally got to his feet and peppered him with left hands to the head until he got another takedown. It was a clear first round for Lawal.

Round 2 was more in Jackson’s favor as Lawal had trouble getting Jackson off his feet, couldn’t keep him there when he did, and appeared to eat some big shots that made him quickly drop levels for a takedown. Referee John McCarthy warned Jackson for illegal strikes to the back of the head but did not stop the fight or take a point.

It all came down to how the judges scored the third round. Jackson didn’t land the big strikes, Lawal didn’t get the takedowns, but Lawal was arguably the aggressor and landed more strikes in clinch to the head and body -- giving him the 29-28 unanimous decision from all three judges.

Jackson and Lawal shared a smile after the decision before Jimmy Smith went to interview him.

“Give a round of applause to Quinton Jackson. The game plan go out the window when you get hit. The second round I got hit a few times -- one time I was crosseyed. I had to dog him out Iran Barkley style. Where Ryan Bader at?”

Jimmy Smith invited Bader to the cage and announced the two would fight at Bellator 180.

“I came to fight for the title, but I’m gonna make an exception for King Mo, I want to fight at Madison Square Garden, let’s get it baby.”

Speaking of men who sought to improve their fortunes, former 135-pound champion Marcos Galvao decided to try his fortunes at Featherweight against “El Matador” Emmanuel Sanchez, fresh off a win over Georgi Karakhanyan.

Sanchez used constant movement in the first round to throw Galvao off his game, who could never seem to figure out whether he was checking a head kick or a big strike. He shot for takedowns multiple times and wasn’t able to get any of them.

The second round was more of the same. A frustrated Galvao would try to close the distance, only to find that for any one shot he landed, two more were waiting. Sanchez would get Galvao to bring his hands up and then land a kick to the body as well.

The strategy paid clear dividends as Galvao didn’t get a single takedown until 20 seconds left in the third round, and Sanchez popped back up so quickly it might as well have not happened at all. The judges gave Sanchez the decisive unanimous decision 30-27 X3.

An excited Sanchez spoke to Jimmy Smith after his hand was raised.

“Man it means everything to me. WINDY CITY BABY! Where Roufusport at? Where Milwaukee at too? Both are my cities! I made a mistake, it’s my fault, I’ll fix it -- but who wants to see me win that belt? I’ll prove myself. I just fought a former champion, I’ve been fighting former champions for three years, I WANT THAT BELT!!”

A Heavyweight featured bout saw Sergei Kharitonov try to improve his standing in Bellator after a surprisingly fast loss in his promotional debut last year. Chase Gormley was not about to make it easy for him — winner of two straight and seven of his last eight.

Gormley and Kharitonov squared off and let each other feel the power in their hands, and at one point it did look like Gormley had Kharitonov hurt with a right hand, but Kharitonov turned it around with a well timed knee and an even better right hand. One last right uppercut to the jaw crumpled Gormley for the walk-off knockout at 3:55 of the first round.

Jimmy Smith spoke to Kharitonov and his translator about his disciplined approach in the fight.

“Yes today that was the key word that was part of my strategy was to be disciplined. It was not my usual game, not my usual style, but next time I’ll risk it more. I really want to fight for the title.”

Also on the main card was Noad Lahat coming back for his second Bellator fight in a match seemingly designed for him to be impressive against Lloyd Carter.

Carter had one brief moment of glory in the first round when he scored a quick knockdown on Lahat with a hard left jab. From that moment until the finish, Lahat dominated with takedowns and transitions on the ground, finally sinking an arm under the chin at 3:50 of Round 2.

Lahat had ample time afterward to speak to Jimmy Smith and lay out an open challenge for the Bellator 180 PPV at Madison Square Garden.

“Thank you to my opponent. Hell of a fighter. Much fun, much respect. It’s just like every other fight -- I’m here to hurt people. Hell yeah. That was a message for the rest of the world. I’m not gonna call nobody out, they’re gonna call me out if they want a fight in New York.”

Two Lightweights with only one loss between them went to war in Rosemont as the undefeated Steve Kozola matched up with Jake Roberts.

Kozola didn’t need long to remain perfect as he rocked Roberts with a perfectly timed left, then poured it on against the fence before Roberts had any chance to recover. Referee John McCarthy waved it off 28 seconds into Round 1.

Steve Kozola spoke to Jimmy Smith after the knockout was made official, and he had some more choice words for Dillon Danis.

“It feels amazing. Chicago, Illinois, I love you guys so much! It’s an honor to fight here and it’s an honor to represent all of you. We’re coming. Hard work — you don’t beat us. We get it done! I don’t train anything but to finish. All of my guys at Team Quest, Oceanside Jiu-Jitsu, I put ‘em together to make a perfect picture — all finishes. Hey (Dillon Danis) you don’t want these problems. I’ll put you out bro. You gotta earn your stripes in here. This ain’t BJJ! You wanna go 170 my boy Fernando’ll take you on too.”

Danis was introduced to the live crowd afterward to fill time, along with other recent signees Lorenz Larkin and Ryan “Darth” Bader.

These bouts were paired with exciting "preliminary" action that aired exclusively online.

For complete Bellator 175 results and coverage click here.