In a blockbuster deal revealed early Wednesday morning, Viacom has purchased Bellator Fighting Championships.
The news was first reported by USA Today, and solidifies Viacom and to a greater extent Spike TV’s commitment to MMA.
After losing the broadcasting rights to the UFC earlier this year it was expected that Viacom would continue to stay in the MMA business through Bellator. This news solidifies those assumptions.
Bellator is currently the No. 3 promotion in MMA, lagging behind ZUFFA-owned promotions UFC and Strikeforce, but with the promotional power that Viacom has, it will likely close the gap in the next few years.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney will remain in charge of the day-to-day operations of the company.
Spike TV has been the go to channel for MMA fans since 2005, when it first aired The Ultimate Fighter and has since held dozens of UFC events as well as 14 full seasons of the reality show. However, the network’s relationship with ZUFFA and the UFC effectively ended earlier this year when the UFC announced a multi year deal with FOX.
While Bellator will eventually move to Spike TV, it is unlikely to happen until 2013 since Spike still has a deal with the UFC to air their product in 2012.
It has not been announced if Bellator will remain on MTV 2, or air on a different Viacom network until the change is made.
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