MMA journalist Ariel Helwani is reporting that Bellator might be making a massive change in ownership in 2023.
Bellator MMA wrapped up a successful year in 2022, with the Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire rematch with AJ McKee and the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix. The promotion is arguably second in the sport’s hierarchy behind the UFC.
Bellator is currently owned by Paramount Global with a television partnership with Showtime. The promotion also made big moves in 2021 by announcing its own official rankings system.
As Bellator continues to evolve and hold its spot as arguably a Top 2 MMA promotion, it could be looking at making a big change to its business structure.
Ariel Helwani Reports Shocking Rumor About Bellator MMA’s Future
During a recent segment of The MMA Hour, Helwani reported that Bellator might be up for sale.
“What becomes of Bellator? There are whispers, I’ll just say, that they’re on the market,” Helwani said.
Bellator has boosted its roster over the past few years, most recently with the addition of Sara McMann. The promotion also signed former UFC standouts such as Corey Anderson and Gegard Mousasi.
Names such as Usman Nurmagomedov, Johnny Eblen, and Ryan Bader have made a name for themselves in Bellator. Some of its biggest stars also were featured in the recent Bellator vs. RIZIN event in Japan.
A re-branding might be on tap for Bellator if new owners emerge. This includes the organization’s name, along with other marketing aspects of the promotion.
If Helwani’s report is true, Bellator could undergo some major changes in 2023. It’ll look to keep pace with the UFC’s global platform and could benefit greatly from a change in leadership at the top.
UFC gonna buy ?
Bellator is such a garbage name.
Pfl should buy it
Maybe just Dana, if he is looking for a new job.
epic
I hope One Championship buys it
That might be the best option.
The PFL sucks.
More orgs are better. Coker has been terrible for Bellator. Remember, all the dummies on here who thought Viacom would pour money into this indefinitely.
You should look into what main card Bellator fighters have gotten paid over the last few years…
Coker has done a horrible job with Bellator. It should be an alternative like Strikeforce was instead of just a b-league version of UFC.
Probably not good if Viacom sells. Would probably mean they would want it off their networks after the sale. Not sure where if anywhere they would end up.
A merge into the UFC would be exciting though.
Bellator has done a shit job of making the public aware of its events. Most of the time I find about them while they are in progress.
Hmmm I post them all the time
Corey Anderson aint cheap!
100% PFL is the worst organization I have ever watched. They also have the lowest finishing tates out of all organizations
Worse than Bodog?
Strikeforce was B League other than heavyweight and middleweight. Just like Bellator is B league but has always had good lower weight guys. I’d say they’re about equal.
If you go back and look at Strikeforce, they were really only interested in entertaining fighters. That gave them a niche and made them different than UFC. Their cards were considered the best in MMA for a while.
Bellator is nothing like that. They run exactly like the UFC but with less of everything. They even outbid UFC for boring fighters sometimes. There’s no niche there like Strikeforce had.
Lol at bellator being number 2, they might not even be number 3.