Bellator Causes Uproar After Demoting Lima vs. MacDonald For Rampage vs. Sonnen

In a bold and strange move, one week before Bellator MMA returns to action in the new year, officials have demoted the scheduled main event, and replaced with a more of a legends matchup between two unranked men.

According to reports, Bellator decided to make the switch when the Viacom owned Paramount studios pulled rank to put Rampage Jackson vs. Chael Sonnen in the main event.

This degrades integrity of the show, as many fans were quick to point out, causing an uproar in the MMA community.

The originally scheduled main event between Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima, and top ranked UFC import Rory MacDonald is one of the biggest fights in promotional history.

However, Rampage Jackson is a big crossover star from film and T.V., and apparently that was enough for the promotion to sell out, and opt for entertainment over sport.

MMA Reporter Steven Muehlhausen was first to report the news.

Can confirm via @BellatorMMA President Scott Coker, the main event of #Bellator192 will be Chael Sonnen vs Rampage Jackson with Douglas Lima vs Rory MacDonald WW Title Fight as the co-headliner. #MMA @sonnench

Here’s some reactions from the mma community: