the_mole Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 (edited) Not looking good for old Bellator if this is true, from middleeasy.com  # I really wish I wasn't the bearer of bad news. Bellator has kept me thoroughly entertained since the summer of 2009. However, things with Bellator are starting to 'hit the fan'. As of this morning, Bellator does not have a television deal to air their season four tournament scheduled for the beginning of 2011. Negotiations with G4 supposedly fell through around the time DirecTV decided to drop the channel from their lineup. # Each Bellator show costs the organization around $400,000. A fee of $65,000 is paid to NBC (similar to what the IFL did) to broadcast regionally in hopes that NBC will pick up the program for a national time slot. They make roughly around $20,000 from sponsors per show which still leaves them in a substantial hole that gets deeper with every week of Bellator broadcasts. # The hedge fund investing in Bellator understood they would take a loss when the organization was created, but with season three wrapping up, they are just not happy with the financial results thus far. # Bjorn Rebney has given away a substantial portion of his share in Bellator away to investors solely for them not to 'pull the plug' on Bellator. # Hence, one of the reasons why Bjorn has been pushing for an Eddie Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez fight is to not only garnish interest for Bellator, but if Eddie defeats Gilbert, Bjorn can then use that as leverage for his investors. Edited November 7, 2010 by the_mole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 7, 2010 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2010 that fucking sucks i thought the Alvarez/Melendez thing might be a kind of last ditch desperation attempt from Rebney...i was hoping it wasn't but it appears it was  Eddie Alvarez will likely end up in Strikeforce anyways and the fight will happen regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 How the fuck do they spunk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SinN6 Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 (edited) A fee of $65,000 is paid to NBC (similar to what the IFL did) to broadcast regionally in hopes that NBC will pick up the program for a national time slot. Â That just sounds like a major waste of money... not that i'm an expert but you would think that there are other ways to broadcast your show that doesnt involve doing it with one certain broadcaster in the hopes they will pick you up? Edited November 8, 2010 by 1SinN6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Actually, when writing my article about what the WEC-UFC nerger meant for the competition, my original draft featured a phrase which went something like "Rebney's currently flashing his fanny at Strikeforce". How apt it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 That's a shame, I enjoy Bellator. Â Here's hoping they can get something sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 11, 2010 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 11, 2010 Rebney has practically came out and said that the rumours floating around are rubbish and that Bellator are still going strong...whether or not to believe his is another story, but i for one hope he's telling the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 16, 2010 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 16, 2010 well Bellator are battling on, they've loaded up the Welterweight GP for next season, looks like this:  Jay Hieron Dan Hornbuckle Rick Hawn Chris Lozano Steve Carl Jim Wallhead Brent Weedman  Hieron!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 I'll go ahead and pick Hieron to win that GP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 Judo Jim has as good a chance as anybody in the bracket though, by virtue of his experience, Hieron is the favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I've been out of the internet loop as far as MMA news goes, but i'll assume from this news that Bellator aren't going out of business as many thought a while ago?  Bellator Fighting Championships has another "Pitbull" in its ranks. MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the fighter that Patricky "Pitbull" Freire (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC), brother of Bellator featherweight tournament finalist Patricio "Pitbull" Freire has signed with the tournament based promotion.  Freire is expected to make his debut in Bellator's upcoming season-four lightweight tournament.  Freire made his professional debut in 2005 and opened his career at 4-1. His lone loss in that span, and still his only career loss to date, came in September 2007 to recent UFC signee Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire.  Following the loss, Freire took a two-and-a-half year break from the sport. He returned to action in April 2010 and quickly earned three victories in a three-month span. Freire's most recent win came in a unanimous-decision victory over Yure Machado in July 2010.  Five of Freire's seven career wins have come via stoppage, and four of those were netted via knockout or TKO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 10, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2011 Yeah I'm chuffed with this. Season 4 is meant to be starting in March I think? I'm looking forward to the welterweight tournament in particular with Hieron, Hornbuckle, Wallhead involved. Should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 13, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 13, 2011 Joe Riggs has signed with Bellator interestingly though he'll be fighting at 185 and not 170. Â Bit of 'star' power for Bellator, can't wait for this to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 16, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2011 the Welterweight Tournament now looks like this: Â Jay Hieron (19-4) Jim Wallhead (21-5) Dan Hornbuckle (22-3) Steve Carl (14-2) Brent Weedman (17-5-1) Rick Hawn (9-0) Lyman Good (10-1) Chris Lozano (6-0) Â obviously there's a much higher profile tournament going on a different promotion this year but that lineup is pretty fucking sweet, all of those guys could and should really be fighting in the UFC...Bellator are slowly building a decent roster of fighters. The fact a lot of fighters are returning each season goes to show that Bellator treat their fighters right. Â Jay Hieron is probably gonna start the betting favourite but if i was a betting man (and i am so i might put some money down), an outside bet on Rick Hawn might be pretty good. I've only seen him fight once but he seems legit. a guy with a legit combat sports background (judo) who seems to have crossed over into MMA seemlessly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Undefeated Brazilian Nazareno Malegarie (19-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) is the final official participant in Bellator Fighting Championships' upcoming featherweight tournament. Bellator brass recently announced Malegarie's participation in the promotion's upcoming 145-pound playoff, which kicks off in March on MTV2.  "Nazareno has had tremendous success in Brazil and is ready for this world-class featherweight tournament," Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated in the official release. "Our team's done a spectacular job finding fighters from around the world that can compete at the highest level, and Nazareno is one of those fighters."  Nazareno has fought professionally since 2007 and has opened his career with an astounding 19-straight victories. The 24-year-old Ataque Duplo product, who counts 17 stoppage wins in his 19 career fights, has trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since age 12.  "I'm looking forward to testing myself in this upcoming Bellator featherweight tournament," Malegarie stated. "I've worked really hard to get to this spot, and I want to let people know who I am."  Malegarie joins Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (14-1 MMA, 2-1 BFC), Wilson Reis (11-2 MMA, 3-2 BFC), Daniel Straus (14-3 MMA, 1-0 BFC), Georgi Karakhanyan (14-2-1 MMA, 2-1 SF), Kenny Foster (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BFC), Zac George (20-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and Eric Larkin (3-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC) as officially confirmed participants in Bellator's featherweight tournament.  The year's tournament winner gets $100,000 in total pay and a shot at current champion Joe Warren's belt.  The tournament, which runs over the full 12-week season, kicks off in March on MTV2. Bellator, which aired past seasons on ESPN Deportes and then FOX Sports Net, also is expected to host season-four tournaments in the lightweight, welterweight and light-heavyweight divisions. Source: MMAJunkie.com  With the recent upturn in Strikeforce quality cards, along with the new Bellator season kicking off soon, things are looking good in the 1st half of 2011 for MMA fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.