Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney
After listening to fans, Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney and his management team have opted to implement title rematches when “called for.”
The new policy will take effect in the New Year when Bellator moves to Spike television this January.
I am proud to announce that driven by your input; we will implement a championship fight rematch clause as we move into 2013 and our launch on Spike in January. When a fighter’s earned a shot at the world title by winning The Toughest Tournament in Sports and competes in a title fight that knocks fans like us back in our seats (win or lose) delivering an incredible fight, when a rematch is called for, we will deliver it. Championship fights give us some of the greatest moments in MMA. And, re-matches of incredible championship fights will give fans like us more of those electrifying moments, while staying true to the world’s best fighters having had to earn their way to those title shots.
Currently fighters can only earn a title rematch by re-entering another eight-man tournament, then win three straight in the Bellator cage before facing the current champion.
Two bouts that spring to mind immediately that had many fans calling for a rematch were between Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler last November in their 2011 nominated “Fight of the Year” bout, and a welterweight match between Ben Askren vs. Jay Hieron in October 2011.
This new policy could be the catalyst which entices Alvarez to re-sign with Bellator as the former champ is weighing his options after completing his contract earlier this fall.
Bellator currently makes it’s home on MTV2 with a limited viewer audience, but with a move to Spike in January viewer numbers are expected to increase significantly.