Ariel Helwani
Spike announces that Spike.com will air Bellator prelims beginning Sept. 10. And so it begins. Or has it already begun?
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Spike.com to stream all Bellator preliminary-card fights beginning with Bellator 49
In a welcomed move that's sure to spark lots of speculation, Bellator Fighting Championships today announced its preliminary-card fights now will stream live and for free on Spike.com.
The two-hour streams, which kick off each Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), begin with this week's Bellator 49 event.
Spike TV officials today confirmed the plans with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"Fight fans have been coming to our site for years for great mixed martial arts clips and information," stated Erik Flannigan, Executive Vice President, Digital Entertainment, MTV Networks Entertainment Group. "Now we are thrilled to provide them with action-packed live fighting each week."
Bellator's main cards currently air on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX), which are both owned by Viacom, which also operates Spike TV. The UFC's live broadcasts on Spike TV end this year. However, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has continually stated that his organization is committed to MTV2 and has made no suggestions the promotion could love to Spike TV.
Still, today's announcement is sure to raise eyebrows.
"We are thrilled to join forces with Spike.com," Rebney stated. "The Spike brand is synonymous with mixed martial arts worldwide and is another member of the MTV family, who does an incredible job in resonating with the hard-to-reach 18-to-34-year-old male audience."
Spike.com never previously has streamed live MMA fights.
Bellator's fifth season runs 12 weeks and features weekly shows on Saturday nights. The preliminary cards often feature local fighters and competitors looking to break into Bellator's main-card slots.
Bellator 49 prelims set to stream include the likes of Giedrius Karavackas (5-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. LeVon Maynard (11-7 MMA, 0-1 BFC), Brylan Van Artsdalen (5-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Joel Roberts (4-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC), and Alexandre "Popo" Bezerra (10-1 MMA, 2-0 BFC) vs. Scott Heckman (7-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC).
The latest Bellator 49 card now features:
MAIN CARD (MTV2)
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Luis Santos (welterweight-tourney opening round)
Chris Cisneros vs. Ben Saunders (welterweight-tourney opening round)
Chris Lozano vs. Brent Weedman(welterweight-tourney opening round)
Steve Carl vs. Douglas Lima (welterweight-tourney opening round)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)
Joel Roberts vs. Brylan Van Artsdalen
Giedrius Karavackas vs. LeVon Maynard
Alexandre "Popo" Bezerra vs. Scott Heckman
Lester Caslow vs. James "Binky" Jones
Azunna Anyanwu vs. J.A. Dudley
For more on Bellator 49, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
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