Bellator MMA holds virtual press conference TODAY (Tuesday 9 February 2021) at 16:00 ET / 13:00 PT. The place and time were first revealed to the mixed martial arts (MMA) media in a mass email campaign “save the date”, but the details have not yet been officially announced.
As today’s press conference takes place, we bring you live updates below on what Bellator has in store for 2021. Is this the full range of programs for this combat season? Does the promotion switch to another platform in the Viacom / CBS umbrella? Did it sign any fighters recently released by UFC?
It could even be some combination of all of the above, or something none of us have considered before. Check out the stream in the built-in player above and stay tuned here on MMAmania.com for the latest news.
Mauro Ranallo informs us that Bellator MMA is moving to Showtime. He joined the desk through Stephen Espinoza, president of Showtime’s sports and event programming, and Scott Coker, president of Bellator. Coker says he is very excited to return to Showtime, now of course with Bellator instead of Strikeforce, and Espinoza reminds us that they are now exclusive to Showtime from April 2 with three consecutive weeks of Friday nights.
Patricio Freire vs. Emmanuel Sanchez will be on April 2, with the winner facing AJ McKee in June. Coker also announces that there will be a light heavyweight Grand Prix from April 9th and it will continue on April 16th. On May 7, there is a Bantamweight title fight between Juan Archuleta and Sergio Pettis. Showtime is offering a free 30-day trial and then for the next six months it will be $ 4.99 per month for new subscribers.
Espinoza: “What attracted us to Bellator at this particular time was the talent base. They are as strong as any organization in this sport. We can bring the first class, our experience in martial arts, to the excellent team that Bellator already has. We believe we can cross-pollinate the boxing and MMA audience in a way that benefits all martial arts. ‘
Coker: ‘We’ll start the three fights in April, then we’ll probably go twice a month for the rest of the year. It’s going to be about that number to move forward. ”
Coker: “Friday is the home of Bellator on Showtime at 9:00 PM ET and 6 Pacific.”
Coker: ‘Traditionally we like to do one tournament a year, we are overlapping due to the COVID situation, but in the future it is definitely an option. When we signed Rumble and Romero, I said: we have to do it (for light heavyweight). So we said okay we’re going to give fans what they want to see, and we’ll do it on Showtime. ”
Coker: “We’re going to announce the tournament in a few minutes with Mauro, but it’s going to be an eight-man tournament.”
Mauro throws the broadcast to Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell of Morning Kombat. Thomas says it’s a full circle since Rich Chou was the matchmaker in Strikeforce, and Scott Coker the president of Strikeforce, so it makes sense to use the same names. He admits that of course he works part-time for Showtime, but he believes they have the best martial arts programming, and Campbell says that this Bellator roster is the hungriest and strongest, where the best of the best now have the best partner in Showtime.
Thomas throws in a video package for the Featherweight Grand Prix, and we return to Mauro Ranallo to introduce AJ McKee’s tournament finalist. He will face the winner of champion Patricio Freire against Emmanuel Sanchez in a long-awaited rematch. Both men are also introduced, with the ‘champ champ’ Freire coming out last.
McKee: “I would prefer to fight Sanchez, and then face Pitbull for the 155-pound title.”
Sanchez: “(It’s about) to get the win back and go through to the final and to get that one back too.”
Freire: ‘Everyone is tough here, everyone knows it, but my focus is Emmanuel Sanchez. Let’s do it first. ”
Sanchez: “I do know what my potential is, and I know what he’s capable of, and I’m excited to go there and show what I can do.
Freire: “I already know I’m the best featherweight on the planet and (AJ) undefeated, but I’m going to prove it again.
Ranallo throw it back to Morning Kombat for their analysis of the semifinals and potential final against McKee. They throw it back to Ranallo for more information on the £ 205 tournament.
Corey Anderson will take on Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.
Ryan Bader will face Lyoto Machida on April 9.
Anthony Johnson will take on Yoel Romero.
Vadim Nemkov will face Phil Davis on April 16.
Anderson says he will treat Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov as if he is the best in the world, even if he has a name no one has ever heard of. Davis says it’s amazing to be on stage with this talent and that the winner is the best light heavyweight in the world. Machida says he cannot predict how the rematch with Ryan Bader will go.
We are now accompanied by Juan Archuleta. ‘Patrick (Mix) was a tough opponent. I knew he would take off in the later rounds, and I would benefit from the strike. You do not chase the dragon (as champion), but you must be able to act from now on. I think if he sticks to his game plan, Patricio will come out on top (in the tournament) and we will cross again at some point in the future. “
Sergio Pettis is good here: “I do not like to think too far ahead about what I am going to do. He’s a tough guy and it’s a great platform, but it means more because it’s for the title. ”
The coverage is now shifting to the Bellator media conference call with the fighters and Bellator president Scott Coker, who will be first on the call.
Coker: ‘We’re waiting to see how it goes with Bader on the 9th. If he wins and he goes on to advance in the tournament, we might consider having an intermediate (heavyweight) belt. We’re going to see how it goes and then we decide to do from there. ”
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