What is Bellator?
Now, if you’re a big fan of MMA, then that probably means you already know what Bellator is and don’t have much use for this article. However, If you’re new to the combat sports world this will be great information that’ll ensure you don’t miss some of the best fights that the world has to offer.
Bellator MMA is a mixed martial arts promotion and one of the UFC’s largest competitors. You might think Bellator is an odd name for an MMA promotion, but the promotion takes its name from the latin word for “warrior”. The company has reached some impressive heights since it was founded back in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney.
The first ever event they held was way back in 2009, and the company has put on over 250 events since its conception. The first card Bellator held was headlined by current UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal and Nick Agallar in a fight where Jorge secured himself a first round TKO victory. Originally, under the ownership of Rebney, events were structured around single elimination tournaments that awarded the winner a check for $100,000 and guaranteed the winner a shot at winning Bellator’s world championship in the applicable weight division.
In December 2011, a majority stake in the company was acquired by Viacom (now known as ViacomCBS) a parent company who still holds a majority stake to this day. In June 2014, Viacom decided to part ways with CEO Bjorn Rebney and president Tim Danaher. Rebney would be succeeded by the founder of Strikeforce Scott Coker, who dropped Bellator’s season tournament format in the beginning of 2015.
Bellator is a fantastic source for entertainment, if you’re looking to consume the sport of MMA.
Current Champions in Bellator as of the day this article was published are:
Heavyweight: Ryan Bader
Light Heavyweight (205 Ib, 93 kg, 14.6 st): Vadim Nemkov
Middleweight (185 Ib, 84 kg, 13.2 st): Gegard Mousasi
Welterweight (170 Ib, 77 kg, 12 st): Douglas Lima
Lightweight (155 Ib, 70 kg, 11.1 st) and Featherweight (145 Ib, 66 kg, 10.5 st): Patricio Freire
Bantamweight (135 Ib, 61 kg, 9.9 st): Juan Archuleta
Women’s Featherweight (145 Ib, 66 kg, 10.5 st): Cris Cyborg
Women’s Flyweight (125 Ib, 56 kg, 8.13 st): Juliana Velasquez
Other notable fighters in Bellator currently: Yoel Romero, A.J. McKee, Michael “Venom” Page, Anthony Johnson, Lyoto Machida, Corey Anderson, Julius Anglickas, Phil Davis, Melvin Manhoef, Liam McGeary, Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov, and many more super talented people who are on the roster.
