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It looks like the Paramount Network based MMA promotion is gearing up for a busy year once they return to action.
In comparison to the UFC, Bellator has been the picture of caution during the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting their doors all the way back on March 13th, with no plans to return before June or July. But when they do come back it sounds like it’ll be with all guns blazing.
Promotion president Scott Coker recently told MMA Fighting that he planned to start holding events over the summer in a Hollywood studio lot owned by Bellator parent company Viacom. And if they can make that happen, reports are that they’ll be hosting shows at a pretty much weekly clip. That’s according to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal (h/t Jason Cruz).
Bellator put on four events this year before the sports shutdown and is still aiming to complete its full slate of about 30 fights by the end of the 2020. While Coker believes fighting is well-positioned to be one of the first sports back, he won’t rush anything. “We’re going to make sure that we have the ability to … get all the testing done properly because there’ll be some type of protocol,” he said.
Assuming they start in early July, having already cancelled their single June event in Chicago, that would leave somewhere around 27 weeks to put on 26 fight cards. With the UFC planning four events for the month of May, and looking to dive right back into their schedule with events hosted on a private island shortly afterward, it could end up being that the second half of 2020 will be a massively busy time for mixed martial arts in America.