It cannot be denied that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney is a driven man.
After all, he’s the son of one of the most legendary salesmen of all time—Jack Rebney, also known as “The Winnebago Man” due to one of the more infamous viral videos of all time. In the video, the elder Rebney can be seen in outtakes from a product shoot for the Winnebago line of luxury motorhomes, sweating and swearing his way through five or more hilarious minutes of video. It’s what I imagine Dana White would be like, if only he sold motorhomes instead of promoted fights.
You’ll never hear Bjorn swear. He’s the opposite of his father in that regard. But the fact that he was able to build Bellator Fighting Championship into a legitimate No. 2 fighting promotion in the world is a testament to his determination and his ability to sell a unique product.
Mike Chiapetta over at MMAFighting.com recently spent a complete fight day with Rebney and wrote a story that offers a fascinating look at a promoter going about his daily business:
By 1 p.m., he’s moving through various seating sections, listening to the sound on the fighter promos as though he was a paying fan. Is the music drowning out the voices? Is Karl Amoussou understandable through his French accent? Suddenly, something catches his eye.
“Why does Zoila have a line across her face?” he suddenly asks, confounding the audio engineer standing in front of him.
Everyone glances up to where Rebney’s looking. Every Bellator champion is represented with a banner hanging from a truss, and sure enough, there is a crease crossing the banner of women’s champion Zoila Gurgel, moving diagonally across her face. It’s something you would probably look right at without seeing, but to Rebney, it’s plain as day.
Rebney has an eye for details, and he’s a control freak. Dana White is the same way. Both men control every aspect of the arena and television production for their promotions. Nothing happens without Rebney personally giving it his stamp of approval.
Rebney will no doubt be heavily involved in the production of Spike TV’s new Bellator reality show. It’s set to debut in 2013 and will be produced by the same guy who created The Amazing Race. That’s quite the pedigree for a reality show, but you can bet Rebney will be there every step of the way.
It’s what good promoters do. Just look at Dana White.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com