Bellator & MTV2 Ink Three-Year Broadcast Deal

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(Roger Huerta, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, and Eddie Alvarez share a laugh before Bellator’s season three Alvarez vs. Huerta superfight.)

It’s been a nomadic existence for Bellator Fighting Championships since the promotion came into being in 2009. The tournament-format MMA show never hits the same city two weeks in a row and has bounced between several broadcast partners who aired live Thursday night events or tape-delayed highlights packages. Today Bellator announced that it has signed a broadcast agreement with MTV2 to air two 12-week tournaments per year and an undetermined number of special events for three years, starting with Bellator Season Four in March 2011. Each Bellator season either determines a champion in a weight class or determines a challenger for a champion of a previous seasons tournament.

“MMA is at the top of our audience’s wish list, and partnering with Bellator to bring live events and specials to MTV2 made complete sense since our viewers are so hungry to see more MMA on-air,” the press release quoted Eric Conte as saying. Conte is the SVP of Programming and Production for MTV2.

Bellator has not announced which weight classes will be featured in season four, and the promotion currently boasts champions in all men’s divisions but Flyweight and Light Heavyweight. Those champions are Zach Makovsky (#8 Bantamweight), Joe Warren (#2 Featherweight), Eddie Alvarez (#10 Lightweight), Ben Askren (#16 Welterweight), Hector Lombard (#7 Middleweight), Cole Konrad (#20 Heavyweight), and Zoila Frausto, who will likely be at the top of the heap when FIGHT! unveils its Women’s Flyweight Rankings.

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