Tag: bjorn rebney

Bellator Officially Drops Women’s Division, Releases 3 Remaining Fighters

Bellator MMA has dropped their women’s division effective immediately following the releases of Jessica Aguilar, Jessica Eye and Felice Herrig.
The writing was on the wall as of Tuesday when both Aguilar and Eye announced their releases via Twitter, an…

Bellator MMA has dropped their women’s division effective immediately following the releases of Jessica Aguilar, Jessica Eye and Felice Herrig.

The writing was on the wall as of Tuesday when both Aguilar and Eye announced their releases via Twitter, and Herrig signed a new exclusive multi-fight deal with women’s MMA promotion Invicta FC.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney issued a press release and statement on Tuesday evening via email confirming that as of now the promotion is moving forward without a women’s division, and no longer has any women’s fighters under contract.

“Jessica Eye, Jessica Aguilar and Felice represent all that is good in women’s MMA.  Both Eye and Aguilar are ranked No. 1 in the world in their respective divisions and carry themselves with class and distinction elevating the women’s game. I’ve said many times that fighters need to fight and fight often.  Given our current focus, we are not in position to provide these very deserving women regular and reoccurring fights on a large platform,” Rebney stated.  “And, I felt it was best to let them go and secure options that did.  I genuinely wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors and will be rooting for each of them wherever they fight.”

Bellator first added a women’s division during their third broadcast season when they introduced the 115-pound weight class and tournament.

The promotion managed to add several high profile names including Aguilar, former top ranked women’s fighter Megumi Fujii, and eventual Bellator champion Zoila Frausto-Gurgel. Unfortunately, Gurgel suffered an injury following her first fight after winning the title (she never actually defended the belt), and had to have major reconstructive knee surgery that kept her out of action for over a year.

Bellator continued to stage women’s fights on a case-by-case basis, but never put on another tournament again in any weight class.

The move on Tuesday to release the remaining women’s fighters under contract now eliminates the women’s division from Bellator’s roster.

While Herrig has already signed to Invicta FC, both Eye and Aguilar will likely be hot prospects to snap up by another promotion in short order.

Aguilar is ranked as the No. 1 fighter in the world at 115 pounds, and Eye is also a highly touted fighter who can fight at both 125 and 135 pounds. Eye’s ability to jump up to bantamweight may be enough to secure her a shot in the UFC, if the promotion is adding any additional talent to the women’s division.

Bellator will now move forward with their current roster of men’s weight classes, which include bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

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And So It Ends: Eddie Alvarez Settles With Bellator, Will Rematch Michael Chandler at November 2nd PPV


(As part of their co-promotional agreement with Viacom, Alvarez and Chandler will also appear in a tag-team match against the Nasty Boys. / Photo via Getty)

MMA’s most public and nasty legal battle since the UFC vs. Randy Couture has reached a thankful conclusion. MMAJunkie’s John Morgan breaks the news that former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has settled his contract dispute with Bellator, and will compete in a title-fight rematch against Michael Chandler at the promotion’s “Rampage vs. Otiz” pay-per-view, November 2nd at the Long Beach Arena.

Maybe it’s not the best-case scenario for Eddie, but at least he’ll be competing and earning money again, for the first time since last October. As he explained to MMAJunkie:

“I couldn’t be happier right now. We’ve been trying to settle since the very beginning of this. [Ed. note: O RLY?] We were able to compromise and put it behind us. I’m happy to put my name on the dotted line and move forward with my career…I’m not big on problems. I normally just deal with solutions. In business, there are problems just like a relationship. There’s good, there’s bad, and there’s ugly. You need to be able to compromise and not deal with problems.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney wouldn’t disclose terms of the settlement, but stated that his promotion was able to find “a common ground” with Alvarez. Rebney also mentioned that there will be more big-name additions to the 11/2 card.

And so, Bellator’s first pay-per-view gets a pay-per-view-caliber fight, and Eddie Alvarez likely ends up with a new contract that was considerably better than his old one. (Competition is never a bad thing in the fight game.) But can Alvarez stay competitive in the rematch, after a year-long layoff? Check out video of Alvarez vs. Chandler 1 after the jump, and let us know what you think…


(As part of their co-promotional agreement with Viacom, Alvarez and Chandler will also appear in a tag-team match against the Nasty Boys. / Photo via Getty)

MMA’s most public and nasty legal battle since the UFC vs. Randy Couture has reached a thankful conclusion. MMAJunkie’s John Morgan breaks the news that former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has settled his contract dispute with Bellator, and will compete in a title-fight rematch against Michael Chandler at the promotion’s “Rampage vs. Otiz” pay-per-view, November 2nd at the Long Beach Arena.

Maybe it’s not the best-case scenario for Eddie, but at least he’ll be competing and earning money again, for the first time since last October. As he explained to MMAJunkie:

“I couldn’t be happier right now. We’ve been trying to settle since the very beginning of this. [Ed. note: O RLY?] We were able to compromise and put it behind us. I’m happy to put my name on the dotted line and move forward with my career…I’m not big on problems. I normally just deal with solutions. In business, there are problems just like a relationship. There’s good, there’s bad, and there’s ugly. You need to be able to compromise and not deal with problems.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney wouldn’t disclose terms of the settlement, but stated that his promotion was able to find “a common ground” with Alvarez. Rebney also mentioned that there will be more big-name additions to the 11/2 card.

And so, Bellator’s first pay-per-view gets a pay-per-view-caliber fight, and Eddie Alvarez likely ends up with a new contract that was considerably better than his old one. (Competition is never a bad thing in the fight game.) But can Alvarez stay competitive in the rematch, after a year-long layoff? Check out video of Alvarez vs. Chandler 1 after the jump, and let us know what you think…


(Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler, Bellator 58, 11/19/11)

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney Issues Statement on War Machine’s ‘Offensive’ Tweet

Bellator welterweight Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver is the latest fighter to make an ill-advised and offensive joke on Twitter when he unleashed a series of messages on Saturday afternoon.
Koppenhaver is no stranger to controversy and was released from…

Bellator welterweight Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver is the latest fighter to make an ill-advised and offensive joke on Twitter when he unleashed a series of messages on Saturday afternoon.

Koppenhaver is no stranger to controversy and was released from his original contract with Bellator after making derogatory remarks about President Barack Obama on Myspace. He’s also served two separate sentences in prison, had a short-lived career as an adult film star and continues to have one of the most questionable Twitter accounts on the social networking site.

Bellator brought Koppenhaver back where he recently picked up a win over Blas Avena, but on Saturday, he decided to make what he believed were jokes, via MMA Mania’s Matthew Roth, involving rape when speaking about his girlfriend, adult film star Christy Mack.

The Bellator welterweight eventually deleted the second message making reference to rape again and then went on a tirade defending his actions, saying others were taking his joke out of context. (Due to the graphic nature of the tweets and subsequent messages, they will not be posted here.)

It took a few hours and some other colorful language from Koppenhaver on Twitter before he finally issued an apology.

Following that message, Bleacher Report reached out to Bellator officials for a comment on Koppenhaver’s actions, and if any additional discipline would be handed out for the offense. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney responded by saying that while he absolutely does not condone the behavior, Koppenhaver has apologized and he’s hopeful that he’s learned from the situation.

“I agree with those who found Jon’s earlier statement to be offensive and inappropriate. And, while his public apology (“I tweeted something earlier that was stupid, insensitive and wrong. Rape is never something to joke about ever. I sincerely apologize”) surely does not excuse his statement, it does evidence his recognition of the seriousness of the situation and his realization that what he said was offensive, ignorant and hurtful,” Rebney said via email on Saturday night. “Since the day I entered this business, I’ve believed that my job was to treat our fighters like human beings and not like property.  Human beings make mistakes and sometimes say stupid things.

“I’m surely prepared to take action in warranted situations as evidenced by recent promotional contracts we have terminated with well-known, popular fighters who have committed assault and/or who have broken the law. But, in this situation, I remain hopeful that Jon will learn from his mistake, redeem himself and become a better man for it and I would like to give him that chance.”

The fighters Rebney is referencing in his statement include former welterweight standout Paul Daley as well as middleweight Maiquel Falcao, who were both released by Bellator following recent arrests.

Koppenhaver unfortunately joins a sad, but growing club of MMA fighters who have made terrible choices by joking about a very serious crime such as rape. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin was admonished after making comments about rape on Twitter, and he was joined by former WEC champion Miguel Torres, who tweeted about the subject as well.

In Torres’ case, he was briefly released by the UFC due to his comment but allowed to come back to the promotion just weeks later.

Since that time, the UFC has instituted a promotion code of conduct policy for its athletes. Bellator, meanwhile, has taken every situation in a case-by-case approach when dealing with its fighters.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator CEO Takes Veiled Shot at Chael Sonnen, UFC Pay-Per-View Model

Since Bellator Fighting Championships was created, there hasn’t been much vitriol between them and the UFC, which happens to be the biggest MMA promotion on the planet.
Certainly there have been jabs back and forth, here and there over the years, but n…

Since Bellator Fighting Championships was created, there hasn’t been much vitriol between them and the UFC, which happens to be the biggest MMA promotion on the planet.

Certainly there have been jabs back and forth, here and there over the years, but not until Bellator signed on to replace the UFC on Spike TV did the gloves come off a bit more.

In addition to airing on Spike TV, Bellator is now owned by Viacom—the parent company of Spike TV which televised the UFC for several years including during the launch of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005.

Since the split with their former network home, UFC president Dana White has made no secret that he’s not a fan of Viacom or their business practices. When the announcement was made that Bellator was going into the pay-per-view business this November, White went on a tirade proclaiming “they have no f—king clue what they’re doing.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney disagrees with White’s assessment of the company’s move into the pay-per-view market. He even took a back-handed slap at the UFC’s willingness to put on a pay-per-view card every single month, regardless of who is fighting on the card.

While he never said the UFC by name, it was pretty clear who Rebney was talking about when he discussed Bellator‘s future plans for pay-per-view during a press conference on Monday.

“The one thing that I’ve always said about pay-per-view is that you can’t force feed pay-per-views down people’s throats month in and month out. You can’t do it as a repetitive vehicle,” Rebney stated.  

“We’re a free TV mechanism and a free TV business. Our partnership and our alliance is with Spike, and when incredible opportunities come up for us, and I sit down with our partners and we have the opportunity to Tito (Ortiz) vs. Rampage (Jackson) or we have the opportunity to another huge fight that as an MMA fan you go ‘that’s great, I would watch that’ we will probably jump back into the pay-per-view arena.

“It’s not going to be one of those things where every single month, do or die, we keep putting it out same time, same place, same channel, where we don’t necessarily have or someone else doesn’t necessarily have the fighters to fuel it that a premium purchase should be fueled. We’ll be back in it, but we’ll be back in it when the time’s right to be back in it.”

The question then came up to Rebney about the main event that will lead Bellator‘s first foray into pay-per-view pitting two former UFC champions against each other. Both Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson are coming off multiple losses in a row, but are viewed as big names and legends in MMA.

Just having a legendary name doesn’t mean Bellator is planning to forgo its current system of crowning contenders. Since its inception, Bellator has depended on the tournament format to hand out titles as well as find contenders in each weight class.

Rebney says that standard won’t change just because Bellator is putting on a big fight between two well-known names like Jackson and Ortiz. He says in Bellator, fighters have to earn their shot at the belt.

This is when Rebney took another crack at the UFC, again without ever saying a name, but obviously talking about current UFC light heavyweight Chael Sonnen. Sonnen received a title shot at 205 pounds despite coming off a loss in a middleweight title bout in his last trip to the Octagon. Sonnen is known as a prolific talker, and apparently Rebney isn’t a fan of how he got his shot at the belt.

“Our point of difference is that we’re real sports competition, and when it boils down to world title fights, when it boils down to crowning our champion at 170, or 55 or 45 or whatever weight class, guys are going to earn the right to fight for that championship and they’re going to have to beat the champion. It’s the toughest tournament in sports, it’s real sports competition,” Rebney said. “We’re not sitting around waiting for some wrestler to lose two fights straight and then bark his way into a 205 world title fight. That’s just not the essence of what we do.”

During the entire press conference, Rebney rarely if ever even uttered the words UFC, and never mentioned any fighter or executive by name, but reading between the lines it was pretty transparent who he was speaking about on both accounts.

While there’s no doubt the UFC will likely always be the No. 1 MMA promotion, Bellator certainly seems willing to poke at the bear with some of the comments he has made lately.

Whether it gets a reaction from the UFC, or if they even care, remains to be seen.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson: The UFC Is Messing Up the Sport of MMA

If you listened to the recent Bellator media call that featured CEO Bjorn Rebney and the two fighters that will anchor that promotion’s first pay-per-view card, Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz, you heard countless reasons why Bellator is so great….

If you listened to the recent Bellator media call that featured CEO Bjorn Rebney and the two fighters that will anchor that promotion’s first pay-per-view card, Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz, you heard countless reasons why Bellator is so great. What you didn’t hear from Jackson and Ortiz, both former UFC light heavyweight champions, was one kind word about the UFC or president Dana White.

Jackson (32-11) left the UFC when his contract expired in January of this year. He ended his run with the promotion by going 0-3, losing to Jon Jones, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira.

Ortiz (16-11-1) retired from the UFC after being enshrined in the promotion’s Hall of Fame. His last fight shortly after was a unanimous decision defeat to Forrest Griffin in July 2012. Ortiz’s run with the UFC ended with him posting a record of 1-7-1 between December 2006 and his retirement. 

The two will now face off in Bellator’s first PPV card, which will take place on November 2. According to Rebney, the card will cost somewhere between $35 and $45, but should not go over $50 in most markets.

After the press conference/media call, Jackson spoke to Rick J Lee about the past, present and future of MMA.

Me and him (Bjorn Rebney) are a lot alike. I feel like he keeps it real. What he just said about pay-per-views, I totally agree with that. He’s not going to cram it down fans’ throats; every month do a pay-per-view. I think that’s what UFC is doing. I think the UFC now is messing up the sport. They just doing a lot of bad things and I just feel like Bellator, the way they doing things is kind of the future of the sport.

Bellator’s future may be tied to the promotion’s first foray into the pay-per-view market and whether they can attract fans to pay for a fight card featuring a duo whose best days—let’s face the facts—are behind them.

Bellator and their parent company, Viacom, are taking a big gamble with Jackson and Ortiz.

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Bellator 97 Fallout: Tito vs. Rampage and 4 Other Awful Ideas in MMA

Sometimes people have bad ideas.
Sometimes, thankfully, those bad ideas are very public and the whole world gets to look at them at laugh.
Bringing Tito Ortiz out of retirement to fight Rampage Jackson is one of those ideas, and Bellator was just kind …

Sometimes people have bad ideas.

Sometimes, thankfully, those bad ideas are very public and the whole world gets to look at them at laugh.

Bringing Tito Ortiz out of retirement to fight Rampage Jackson is one of those ideas, and Bellator was just kind enough to do it where we could all see. It’s the type of train wreck that, since the UFC crushed most other competitors, there just isn’t enough of anymore.

Here are some other beauties that are right up there with this latest debacle.

Begin Slideshow