The Bellator 123 line-up has been shuffled once again.
The Sept. 5 event was originally expected to feature a co-main event between former Strikeforce champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and UFC veteran Tom DeBlass. However, DeBlass suffered an injury and was replaced by Marcus Sursa. Now, Sursa has been forced off the card and will be replaced by UFC and GLORY veteran Dustin Jacoby.
Lawal has been out of action since dropping the season 10 light heavyweight tournament final to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via controversial decision. The former Oklahoma State wrestler has gone 4-3 inside the Bellator cage, including a pair of losses to current champion Emanuel Newton.
Jacoby, meanwhile, will make his promotional debut. The 26-year-old has gone 4-1 in MMA competition since losing to his now teammate Chris Camozzi at UFC on Fox 2 in early 2012. The Factory X Muay Thai/MMA product also put himself on the kickboxing map after claiming a one-night, eight-man Road to Glory tournament. He has made six subsequent appearances in the GLORY ring. Jacoby was most recently in action at Titan FC 29 on Aug. 22, scoring a first-round knockout of Lucas Lopes.
Bellator 123 takes place from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The night’s main card will be headlined by a featherweight title tilt between champion Pat Curran and tournament winner Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. The four-fight main card will air live on Spike TV beginning at a special time of 8 p.m. ET. The night’s preliminary card will stream live via Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. ET.