Viacom Buys Bellator, Giving an Upstart Promotion a Long-Term Shot

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In recent years in mixed martial arts, promotions that have tried to position themselves as the UFC's primary competitor have always fallen by the wayside. But the news that Viacom has purchased Bellator Fighting Championships makes this No. 2 promotion different: Bellator may never be on the same level as the UFC, but it now has a solid foundation on which to establish itself as an MMA promotion that's here to stay.

Viacom owns both MTV2, which currently airs Bellator fights, and Spike TV, which has been the cable TV home of the UFC for several years. Spike President Kevin Kay told USA Today that with the UFC leaving Spike for Fox, now is the right time for Viacom to demonstrate that it's heavily invested in MMA by getting on board with Bellator.

"As we realized that our relationship with UFC was likely to come to an end, our Viacom mergers and acquisitions folks, and us, started to have conversations with MTV2 about getting invested in a mixed martial arts promotion and become owners as opposed to renters," Kay said. "You're building value in something that you own, and you own it for the long term. You're not in a constant state of negotiation."

Viacom's plan is to keep Bellator on MTV2 through 2012, then move it to Spike in 2013, when Spike's deal to air repeats of UFC programming comes to an end. Spike has a much larger audience than MTV2 -- and an audience that's accustomed to watching MMA -- and so moving Bellator to Spike just makes sense.

The biggest question is what kind of investment Viacom wants to make in Bellator going forward: Will Viacom be willing to spend the kind of money that will allow Bellator to compete with the UFC for fighters? Or will Bellator be content to stick with fighters who are mostly a step below UFC level? Bellator has a handful of fighters who are considered among the Top 10 in the world in their weight classes, but for the most part the quality of the fighting in the Bellator cage is not on par with what fans are accustomed to seeing in the UFC.

Another question for Bellator is whether it will re-think its approach of using a seasonal format with weekly shows and tournaments. That format has been Bellator's trademark, and it allows the promotion to build up its tournament winners quickly. But it has also resulted in problems when winning fighters have suffered injuries, and the tournament format has caused some of Bellator's champions to experience long layoffs while waiting for the next tournament to end.

But however Bellator resolves those issues, the best news is that Bellator will be around long enough to make those decisions. Viacom is a huge media company with the deep pockets necessary to keep Bellator afloat for years to come. This deal means Bellator has a promising future.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/26/viacom-buys-bellator-giving-an-upstart-promotion-a-long-term-sh/

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Nam Phan not interested in trilogy with Leonard Garcia

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Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/20/nam-phan-not-interested-in-trilogy-with-leonard-garcia

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Brett Rogers Arrested Again

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Brett Rogers' personal life appears to be even more troubled than his mixed martial arts career.

Rogers, the former Strikeforce and EliteXC heavyweight who participated in two of the most-watched fights in the history of the sport, was arrested again on Monday morning, this time for failing to comply with the conditions of his pre-sentencing release, stemming from a guilty plea last month to assaulting his wife in June.

Apple Valley Patch reports that Rogers was arrested at 6 a.m. Monday. He was scheduled to be sentenced on November 30 after pleading guilty to the assault of his wife, whom he reportedly punched and choked. It is not clear how Monday's arrest will affect his upcoming sentencing.

Rogers' attorney told HDNet's Inside MMA that Rogers surrendered to authorities on Monday morning. He stands accused of violating an order not to have any contact with his wife.

Rogers was involved in the first mixed martial arts fight ever to be shown on network television when he knocked out Jon Murphy on May 31, 2008. He was also in the main event of a CBS-televised Strikeforce show, losing to Fedor Emelianenko on November 7, 2009.

But while Rogers once possessed an 11-0 record, with all 11 wins coming by knockout, his career has gone into free fall over the last couple of years. Strikeforce parent company Zuffa released Rogers from his contract after his June arrest, and Rogers has lost four of his last five fights.

Rogers faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/24/brett-rogers-arrested-again/

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TUF 14 controversy: Akira says he didn?t tap, but then says he did

Only one guy counts in the discussion and that's referee Herb Dean, but anybody watching last night's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" saw Akira Corassani tap and Dustin Neace robbed of a victory.

Late in the first round, Neace caught Corassani in heel hook/knee bar and it was pretty clear that he tapped, once, if not three times, with his right hand.

TUF 14 controversy: Akira says he didn?t tap, but then says he did

Neace, thinking the fight was finished, let the pressure off and Corassani popped free. Neace was mentally shot from there and got drilled by a left hook in the second that dropped him and eventually sealed the deal for his opponent.

On the tap, that wasn't ruled a tap, Corassani says he didn't tap, but then says he did.

"I've watched it maybe 100 times and I know for myself that I never tapped. Herb Dean has refereed thousands of fights and he didn't see a clear tap. Usually it's a horror scene when somebody taps from a heel hook. People start screaming and crying," wrote Corassani. "I raised my hand and tapped one time on his thigh but it wasn't one of those dramatic taps like a metal drummer. It slipped out and I just went up on him. I would be honest and say I tapped if I did."

Corassani says from there, he slipped out. Is that what happened or did Neace think the fight was over?

"[...] The other was that when he had me in a heel hook it wasn't there. It wasn't in. If you watch the video again you see my knee pop out because he slipped. He lost his grip. I was thinking 'holy shit he's got it!' I changed my mind the moment he slipped."

Corassani said it was survive and advance.

"I was almost gassed just walking into the cage. Whatever, I'm a professional and I got the job done. I had double vision the whole fight. I actually don't remember anything from that fight. I just remember two things. One is the knockdown."

Dana White bit his tongue, but admitted that no one would've complained had the fight been stopped. Dean is highly respected so he's getting a break here. One can only imagine what would've happened had Steve Mazzagatti made the same mistake.

Photo and tip via MMAMania

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/TUF-14-controversy-Akira-says-he-didn-8217-t-t?urn=mma-wp8408

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Photo: Sir Charles Barkley enjoyed UFC 136

Photo: Sir Charles Barkley enjoyed UFC 136

NBA legend and TNT analyst Charles Barkley was one of the 16,164 at the Toyota Center in Houston for UFC 136. Barkley took a second to pose for a picture with Strikeforce welterweight contender Tyron Woodley and his wife Averi.

Barkley was also in Philadelphia for UFC 133. He was known for being a bruiser in his NBA days, and once punched Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull. Would you like to see him in the cage?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Photo-Sir-Charles-Barkley-enjoyed-UFC-136?urn=mma-wp8072

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Source: http://www.5thRound.com/93823/ufc-on-fox-velasquez-vs-dos-santos-official-event-poster/

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Scott Jorgensen ready to outwork Jeff Curran in the cage at UFC 137

Bantamweight Scott Jorgensen is 1-0 since joining the UFC but it?s his final appearance under World Extreme Cagefighting‘s banner still lingering in his mind. A winner of five straight entering the bout, a championship clash with Dominick Cruz, Jorgensen felt supremely confident to the point of complacency in the affair and ultimately paid the price [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/26/scott-jorgensen-ready-to-outwork-jeff-curran-in-the-cage-at-ufc-137

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UFC Undisputed 3 Welterweight Roster Revealed

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/a0ZKVIdhyc8/

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