Bellator MMA has inked a deal with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to air all of its events outside of the US — specifically in European territories — to air on its newly-created BBC Three channel.
The current deal is an enhancement from the original agreement the Viacom-owned promotion landed with BBC in 2021. Previously, all events — including US-based events — were available to be streamed on BBC’s iPlayer, which can be downloaded on various electronic mobile devices. While that is still the case, all events staged across Europe will now air on the BBC Three channel.
“I’m so excited by the continued growth of MMA in the UK and delighted that we’ll continue to enjoy the support of the BBC by bringing our events live to existing British fans and new audiences in 2022,” said Scott Coker.
“We’ve enjoyed an incredibly successful first year partnered with the broadcaster and we’re looking forward to reaching millions more UK homes as part of an exciting new channel,” added David Green, head of Bellator Europe.
“We’ve worked incredibly hard to bring live action from this amazing sport to as many people in the UK as possible, and this is yet another landmark step on that journey.”
The first event under the renewed partnership will be Bellator 275, which is set to go down on Feb. 25, 2022 live from inside O2 Arena Dublin, Ireland, and will feature a Middleweight title fight between division champion, Gegard Mousasi, taking on Austin Vanderford.
Bellator Paris — which features a Heavyweight title fight between Ryan Bader and Cheick Kongo — and Bellator London— featuring a Welterweight title fight between Yaroslav AMosov and Michael Page — will follow suit in consecutive weeks on May 6 and May 13m respectively.
To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.