Tag: Bellator FC

Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. and NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 1, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships’ highly anticipated fourth season will premiere this Saturday, March 5, live on MTV2 beginning at 9pm ET/PT from the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, Calif. Bellator 35 will feature the quarterfinal pairings in the Season 4 Welterweight Tournament, including: Rick Hawn vs. Jim Wallhead, Jay Hieron vs. Anthony Lapsley, Chris Lozano vs. Lyman Good and Brent Weedman vs. Dan Hornbuckle. A Spanish-language telecast will air on MTV Tr3s on Sunday, March 6, at 8pm ET/PT. MTV2’s live event telecasts will feature returning duo Sean Wheelock as the play-by-play announcer and Jimmy Smith as the analyst and the Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más telecast will include George X and Manny Rodriguez as the on-air announce team.

“We’re thrilled to have both our English and Spanish language broadcast teams back in place for the coming years,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “With their wealth of experience, knowledge of the game and excitement for MMA – I truly believe that we have the best broadcast team in the sport”

Sean Wheelock has called Bellator fights since Season 2 and is familiar to MMA fans around the globe thanks to his experience as the play-by-play announcer for PRIDE, Affliction and M-1 Global events. Wheelock has also been a columnist for the websites of Fox Sports, the BBC and Major League Soccer, along with being the co-founder and a principal of Eudora Productions, LLC, which focuses on soccer and MMA remote productions and live broadcasts.

Also returning for his third Bellator season is Jimmy Smith, the color commentator. Smith is a professional MMA fighter with a record of 5-1 (4 Submissions) and notable victories over UFC veteran James Wilks and Jason Chambers. As a broadcaster, he has teamed with Wheelock to provide color commentary for M1-Global and was the host of the Discovery Channel’s very popular “Fight Quest.”

George X is one of Mexico’s best-known Spanish language announcers, having announced events such as the NBA finals, the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl XXXV. Extreme sports fans, will know George X as the face and voice of ESPN’s Spanish-language coverage of the X Games. He is an MMA expert and has been a writer for the leading Latino MMA publication, Extreme Fighting. George has been calling the action in Spanish language for Bellator since the organizations premiere in 2009.

Manny Rodriguez, the former King of the Cage Heavyweight Champion, has handled a wide collection of on-air broadcast duties for numerous Mexican MMA events and has been calling the action in Spanish language for Bellator since the organizations premiere in 2009.

Live Bellator fights will air weekly on MTV2 and will feature fights from venues around the country with many of the top mixed martial arts fighters in the world. This season will include a featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, and light heavyweight tournament with fights airing live every Saturday night for 12 weeks on MTV2. Bellator on Tr3s will air every Sunday, following the MTV2 live telecast, at 8pm ET/PT.

About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator Fighting Championships is the first MMA promotion to hold a nationally televised tournament format. Bellator’s fourth season will begin March 5, 2011, airing LIVE on MTV2.

About MTV2
MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (February 25th, 2011) – The Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament roster is now complete with Division I All-American wrestler Raphael Davis rounding out the class of competitors. Davis joins Daniel Gracie, Nik Fekete, Chris Davis, D.J. Linderman, Tim Carpenter, Christian M’Pumbu, and Richard Hale as the eight 205 pounders competing for the first ever Bellator World Light Heavyweight Championship. The tournament will air LIVE every Saturday on MTV2 beginning in March.

“Raphael’s been with us for a while now. Last year he sat with me at the Hard Rock and said that “all he wanted was the chance to compete in a World Title Tournament”, and I’m thrilled that we are able to provide him that opportunity,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Residing and training out of California, the former Division I All-American wrestler for CS Bakersfield enters the tournament riding an impressive nine fight win streak, including victories at Bellator 22 and 34 over Demetrius Richards and former King of the Cage Champion Tony Lopez, respectively.

A powerful submission specialist with 9 finishes in his 10 victories, Davis (10-1, 2-0 Bellator) feels like his shot at the Bellator Championship has been a long time coming.

“I’ve been waiting for so long for this Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament to finally happen,” said Davis. “I’ve been seeing all of these other champions get their belts put on them after their fights and I want one of those belts for myself. That has always been my goal ever since I first started fighting – I just want to win a belt. I want to be a world champion. Now I’m just really excited to finally have that chance.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

About MTV2

MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

Press Release – CHICAGO, Ill. (February 25, 2011) – Bellator Fighting Championships today confirmed the participation of Christian “Tonton” M’Pumbu in the upcoming Season 4 Light Heavyweight tournament which will air LIVE on MTV2 beginning in March. The African-born submission finisher brings a 15-3-1 record to the tournament with 12 of those victories recorded as finishes, four by TKO or KOs and eight by submission.

“Christian’s dangerous in every facet of the game and he could use this platform on MTV2 to establish himself as a force in the 205 division,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

M’Pumbu is currently residing and fighting out of Paris, France; however, the 33 year old was born in Kinshasa, Republic of Congo. His mother donned him “Tonton” at a young age and the nickname stuck. M’Pumbu developed an appetite for combat sports in his teens when he began training in Kyukushinkai Karate. The appetite turned to hunger when at 25-years-old M’Pumbu decided to begin his training in mixed martial arts.

“Tonton” took his first fight in 2004 where he won by KO in just 32 seconds but did not decided to fight professionally until 2006. Now, five years later, M’Pumbu is ready to take the next step in his career.

I have wanted to take a step up in competition for some time now. I’m ready for this,” said M’Pumbu. “I truly believe that I will be the Bellator World Light Heavyweight Champion. I’m excited about the future. Hard work always pays off”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

About MTV2

MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.