Bellator 123 main card lineup finalized; Bobby Lashley to make promotional debut

Bellator 123 is going head-to-head with UFC Fight Night: Jacare vs. Mousasi in Connecticut, with both cards just minutes away from each other. The UFC has already announced the bulk of their card, and today Bellator came out with their plans for their season 11 premiere on September 5th.

While it was known that Pat Curran would rematch Patricio Pitbull for Curran's featherweight title, the rest of the main card has a decided Strikeforce familiarity as this upcoming season would mark the first one sans Bjorn Rebney but with Scott Coker. Ex-UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo (21-9) will take on ex-Strikeforce fighter Lavar Johnson (18-9) in a non-tournament bout. Muhammed Lawal (12-4, 1 NC) meets Tom DeBlass (9-2) in the light heavyweight division, while the main card is opened by the debut of former Strikeforce man Bobby Lashley (10-2) against Josh Burns (8-7).

Yes, you read that right. Bobby Lashley is a Bellator fighter, but perhaps it's not all that surprising when you consider that he is the TNA World Heavyweight champ, a pro-wrestling org that also airs on Spike TV. It's an easy way to get the TNA audience to watch Bellator, which would then benefit them as they compete with the UFC for viewers.

Bellator 123 takes place the Mohegan Sun Arena, with the night's main card airing live on Spike TV. This also marks the first time that the UFC and Bellator have had cards running against each other since the latter's move to the Viacom-owned network.