Saturday, June 05, 2010
No Holds Barred: Bjorn Rebney on the State of the Bellator Fighting Championships
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with Bjorn Rebney, the founder and CEO of the mixed martial arts company, the Bellator Fighting Championships.
For the next three Thursdays, Bellator will be running their season 2 tournament finals. On Thursday, June 10, Toby Imada faces Pat Curran in the lightweight (155 lbs.) finals in Hollywood, Florida. On Thursday, June 17, Ben Askren fights Dan Hornbuckle in the welterweight (170 lbs.) finals in Kansas City, Missouri. And on Thursday, June 24, there are two finals, as Joe Warren fights Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight (145 lbs.) finals and Bryan Baker takes on Alexander Shlemenko in the middleweight (185 lbs.) finals, in Louisville, Kentucky.
All three cards will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox Sports Net and their affiliates, which will also air replays of these shows. In addition, highlight shows of these cards will air on NBC, Telemundo, and mun2. In Canada, The Score will telecast these shows on tape-delay. As always, check your local listings.
The winners of these four tournaments will face the Bellator champions in their respective weight classes in season 3, which starts Thursday, August 12.
We spoke with Bjorn Rebney Friday afternoon by phone about these tournament finals. Our lengthy discussion not only previewed these fights, but also focused on the business side of Bellator. We discussed the results thus far of their multi-network television deal, and the problems associated with running live shows for Fox Sports Net, where they have been preempted in many markets in various weeks over the course of season 2. We discussed the average number of viewers Bellator has been getting in season 2, the possibility of a new television deal in the future where there will be no preemptions, and how their national tour has been going for their live events.
We also discussed a number of other issues, including the possibility of Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez fighting Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez in what would be a co-promotion, and the future of Roger Huerta, who lost in the semifinals of the season 2 lightweight tournament.
We got a glimpse of season 3, which will feature these four championship fights as well as at least three new tournaments. There will be a heavyweight tournament, including two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Cole Konrad. There will be a bantamweight (135 lbs.) tournament. And there will be the first women's tournament for Bellator, in the 115-pound weight class, scheduled to include such top fighters as Megumi Fujii, Rosi Sexton, Lisa Ward, and Jessica Pene.
Overall, Bjorn Rebney painted a positive and optimistic picture. "Projections that were in our business model are projections that we are currently exceeding," he said during this interview.
Make sure not only to listen to this informative interview, but also to send in your comments and reactions to No Holds Barred.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
For the next three Thursdays, Bellator will be running their season 2 tournament finals. On Thursday, June 10, Toby Imada faces Pat Curran in the lightweight (155 lbs.) finals in Hollywood, Florida. On Thursday, June 17, Ben Askren fights Dan Hornbuckle in the welterweight (170 lbs.) finals in Kansas City, Missouri. And on Thursday, June 24, there are two finals, as Joe Warren fights Patricio "Pitbull" Freire in the featherweight (145 lbs.) finals and Bryan Baker takes on Alexander Shlemenko in the middleweight (185 lbs.) finals, in Louisville, Kentucky.
All three cards will be televised live in the U.S. on Fox Sports Net and their affiliates, which will also air replays of these shows. In addition, highlight shows of these cards will air on NBC, Telemundo, and mun2. In Canada, The Score will telecast these shows on tape-delay. As always, check your local listings.
The winners of these four tournaments will face the Bellator champions in their respective weight classes in season 3, which starts Thursday, August 12.
We spoke with Bjorn Rebney Friday afternoon by phone about these tournament finals. Our lengthy discussion not only previewed these fights, but also focused on the business side of Bellator. We discussed the results thus far of their multi-network television deal, and the problems associated with running live shows for Fox Sports Net, where they have been preempted in many markets in various weeks over the course of season 2. We discussed the average number of viewers Bellator has been getting in season 2, the possibility of a new television deal in the future where there will be no preemptions, and how their national tour has been going for their live events.
We also discussed a number of other issues, including the possibility of Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez fighting Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez in what would be a co-promotion, and the future of Roger Huerta, who lost in the semifinals of the season 2 lightweight tournament.
We got a glimpse of season 3, which will feature these four championship fights as well as at least three new tournaments. There will be a heavyweight tournament, including two-time NCAA Div. I wrestling champion Cole Konrad. There will be a bantamweight (135 lbs.) tournament. And there will be the first women's tournament for Bellator, in the 115-pound weight class, scheduled to include such top fighters as Megumi Fujii, Rosi Sexton, Lisa Ward, and Jessica Pene.
Overall, Bjorn Rebney painted a positive and optimistic picture. "Projections that were in our business model are projections that we are currently exceeding," he said during this interview.
Make sure not only to listen to this informative interview, but also to send in your comments and reactions to No Holds Barred.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Bellator Fighting Championships, Bjorn Rebney, Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred
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