Tag: bjorn rebney

Ben Askren *Released* by Bellator (!) For Being “A Completely One-Dimensional, Utterly Dominant Fighter”


(Bjorn Rebney: Putting the “backhand” in “backhanded compliment” since 2008.)

You gotta love the Bellator business model, Nation. Two aging, injury-prone UFC stars who are 3-7 in their past 10 combined? BUILD A PPV AROUND THEM, DAMMIT. A longstanding (albeit incredibly boring) champion who has dominated every last opponent placed before him? LET HIM SPREAD HIS WINGS AND FLY, DAMMIT.

And so goes the Bellator career of welterweight champion Ben Askren, who was released into the murky waters of unrestricted free agency earlier today. A press release sent out this morning has the details:

Ben Askren is now an unrestricted free agent after Bellator released the undefeated welterweight. The Bellator Welterweight World Title will be vacant until Douglas Lima faces the winner of the Season 9 Welterweight Tournament later this winter when the new Bellator Welterweight Champion will be crowned.

“I’ve said it many times, Ben’s a completely one-dimensional fighter who is utterly dominant in that dimension,” (Ed note: BUUUUUURRRRNNNN?!) Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “I had a number of discussions with Ben and it became clear it was time for both parties to move in different directions. We’ve relinquished any right to match here and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with. Ben’s been at Bellator since the start of his career, I respect him and what he’s accomplished and wish him the best wherever he goes.”


(Bjorn Rebney: Putting the “backhand” in “backhanded compliment” since 2008.)

You gotta love the Bellator business model, Nation. Two aging, injury-prone UFC stars who are 3-7 in their past 10 combined? BUILD A PPV AROUND THEM, DAMMIT. A longstanding (albeit incredibly boring) champion who has dominated every last opponent placed before him? LET HIM SPREAD HIS WINGS AND FLY, DAMMIT.

And so goes the Bellator career of welterweight champion Ben Askren, who was released into the murky waters of unrestricted free agency earlier today. A press release sent out this morning has the details:

Ben Askren is now an unrestricted free agent after Bellator released the undefeated welterweight. The Bellator Welterweight World Title will be vacant until Douglas Lima faces the winner of the Season 9 Welterweight Tournament later this winter when the new Bellator Welterweight Champion will be crowned.

“I’ve said it many times, Ben’s a completely one-dimensional fighter who is utterly dominant in that dimension,” (Ed note: BUUUUUURRRRNNNN?!) Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “I had a number of discussions with Ben and it became clear it was time for both parties to move in different directions. We’ve relinquished any right to match here and Ben can sign with whoever he chooses to sign with. Ben’s been at Bellator since the start of his career, I respect him and what he’s accomplished and wish him the best wherever he goes.”

In all seriousness, it’s not *that* difficult to follow Bjorn’s line of logic here. For the past three years, Bellator’s welterweight division has been stuck in a state of purgatory, so to speak, hopelessly cycling between fighters that stood no chance of defeating their increasingly hard-to-watch champion. Bjorn & Co. have been hinting at Askren’s possible release for a little while now, and while we originally thought it was just an attempt to draw the UFC into a bidding war, it seems that, for once, Bellator has mutually ended a relationship with one of its fighters.

We will keep you updated as to any offers the UFC makes Askren (if they make him an offer, that is) as the information becomes available.

–J. Jones

After Solid Bellator 106 Ratings Come In, Bjorn Rebney Takes Shot at Dana White

This just in: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and UFC President Dana White don’t like each other very much. 
The latest in the feud between the top executives in the mixed martial arts world began on Saturday, when White sent out a tweet mocking Rebney …

This just in: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and UFC President Dana White don’t like each other very much. 

The latest in the feud between the top executives in the mixed martial arts world began on Saturday, when White sent out a tweet mocking Rebney after Eddie Alvarez recaptured the Bellator lightweight strap from Michael Chandler. 

Alvarez was on the shelf for over a year due to a long, drawn-out legal battle with Bellator, as they refused to let him take his talents to the Octagon. 

After Alvarez vs. Chandler II was announced in August, both sides acted as if the past was the past, but it’s hard to believe there isn’t some bad blood lingering. 

Rebney‘s reaction, per Bloody Elbow, after Alvarez won the title back after a hard-fought 25-minute battle speaks volumes about the tumultuous relationship. 

Now that the Bellator 106 ratings have come in, bringing in an all-time high of 1.1 million viewers according to a press release from Spike TV sent to Bleacher Report, Rebney didn’t mind letting White know about the latest numbers. 

The UFC’s last event televised on FOX Sports 2, UFC Fight Night 2, drew in a lackluster 122,000 viewers according to MMA Payout, though it’s worth mentioning that the show took place in England and therefore aired in the afternoon in the United States. 

Additionally, MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti reports that in a conference call, White stated that his initial tweet was clearly talking about the contract situation with Alvarez and nothing else. 

I have no comment on that. When I sent that karma text, everybody knows what I was talking about. He tried to f–k this kid, and then he loses. What was he shaking his head about if he was so f–king pumped about his evening? (*Louder*) If his evening was that wonderful and he was so pumped about it, why was he back there shaking his head and looked like he wanted to f–king kill himself?

While Alvarez vs. Chandler II was unquestionably a phenomenal fight that is among the year’s best, few other bouts at Bellator 106 delivered, so it will be quite telling to see how high the ratings of the next Bellator show are. 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

After Solid Bellator 106 Ratings Come In, Bjorn Rebney Takes Shot at Dana White

This just in: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and UFC President Dana White don’t like each other very much. 
The latest in the feud between the top executives in the mixed martial arts world began on Saturday, when White sent out a tweet mocking Rebney …

This just in: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and UFC President Dana White don’t like each other very much. 

The latest in the feud between the top executives in the mixed martial arts world began on Saturday, when White sent out a tweet mocking Rebney after Eddie Alvarez recaptured the Bellator lightweight strap from Michael Chandler. 

Alvarez was on the shelf for over a year due to a long, drawn-out legal battle with Bellator, as they refused to let him take his talents to the Octagon. 

After Alvarez vs. Chandler II was announced in August, both sides acted as if the past was the past, but it’s hard to believe there isn’t some bad blood lingering. 

Rebney‘s reaction, per Bloody Elbow, after Alvarez won the title back after a hard-fought 25-minute battle speaks volumes about the tumultuous relationship. 

Now that the Bellator 106 ratings have come in, bringing in an all-time high of 1.1 million viewers according to a press release from Spike TV sent to Bleacher Report, Rebney didn’t mind letting White know about the latest numbers. 

The UFC’s last event televised on FOX Sports 2, UFC Fight Night 2, drew in a lackluster 122,000 viewers according to MMA Payout, though it’s worth mentioning that the show took place in England and therefore aired in the afternoon in the United States. 

Additionally, MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti reports that in a conference call, White stated that his initial tweet was clearly talking about the contract situation with Alvarez and nothing else. 

I have no comment on that. When I sent that karma text, everybody knows what I was talking about. He tried to f–k this kid, and then he loses. What was he shaking his head about if he was so f–king pumped about his evening? (*Louder*) If his evening was that wonderful and he was so pumped about it, why was he back there shaking his head and looked like he wanted to f–king kill himself?

While Alvarez vs. Chandler II was unquestionably a phenomenal fight that is among the year’s best, few other bouts at Bellator 106 delivered, so it will be quite telling to see how high the ratings of the next Bellator show are. 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Post-Bellator 106 News Roundup: Bjorn Rebney Plans Another PPV, Alvarez Tweets Picture of F*cked Up Eye, and More


(The purple hue really brings out the chestnut color of Alvarez’s eyebrows. / via twitter)

The best Sundays are post-event Sundays. There’s tons of great articles to read about the valiant, violent displays of physical fortitude that occurred the night before.

Usually, there’s not enough interest in a Bellator card to warrant a slew of interesting sound bites and pictures. But Bellator 106 was different. Bellator 106 was the canceled PPV that became one of the most important free, non-UFC televised cards in MMA history. Let’s look at some of the fallout, the crucial and the just plain cool.

Dana White, predictably, had nothing positive to say about Bellator 106 (but that’s not just because he’s a jerk; the show really wasn’t that great). Bjorn Rebney responded to Dana’s comments about karmic justice like a shady Winnebago salesman, saying “If karma is that we just put on the best mixed martial arts fight I’ve ever seen, that’s karma I’ll take big boatloads of.”

Rebney had some other important statements. He pessimistically dismissed the future of Bellator’s “Ultimate Fighter” knockoff “Fight Master.” Typical of post-Viacom buyout Bellator, Rebney didn’t do this without taking a shot at the UFC.

“Reality fight TV is having its difficulties now. You can see it in the UFC’s ratings, they’re having the lowerst-rated TUF they’ve had in the history of the show,” he said (he was right, by the way).

Read about Bellator’s next PPV, King Mo’s surprising salary, and more after the jump.


(The purple hue really brings out the chestnut color of Alvarez’s eyebrows. / via twitter)

The best Sundays are post-event Sundays. There’s tons of great articles to read about the valiant, violent displays of physical fortitude that occurred the night before.

Usually, there’s not enough interest in a Bellator card to warrant a slew of interesting sound bites and pictures. But Bellator 106 was different. Bellator 106 was the canceled PPV that became one of the most important free, non-UFC televised cards in MMA history. Let’s look at some of the fallout, the crucial and the just plain cool.

Dana White, predictably, had nothing positive to say about Bellator 106 (but that’s not just because he’s a jerk; the show really wasn’t that great). Bjorn Rebney responded to Dana’s comments about karmic justice like a shady Winnebago salesman, saying “If karma is that we just put on the best mixed martial arts fight I’ve ever seen, that’s karma I’ll take big boatloads of.”

Rebney had some other important statements. He pessimistically dismissed the future of Bellator’s “Ultimate Fighter” knockoff “Fight Master.” Typical of post-Viacom buyout Bellator, Rebney didn’t do this without taking a shot at the UFC.

“Reality fight TV is having its difficulties now. You can see it in the UFC’s ratings, they’re having the lowerst-rated TUF they’ve had in the history of the show,” he said (he was right, by the way).

But Rebney couldn’t continue his streak of smart post-fight quotes—he all but flat-out said that he’s planning another PPV for Bellator…because it went so well the first time. He said he wouldn’t put Chandler-Alvarez III on free TV unless he had his brains removed, which is funny because your brain (or at least part of it) would have to be removed to think putting Tito Ortiz vs. Rampage Jackson on a PPV in 2013 was a good idea.

Presumably, Chandler-Alvarez III would serve as this hypothetical PPV’s main event. That’s great because Bellator would be promoting it’s own stars rather than UFC castoffs, which is what a lot of fans and writers want. But if Bellator 106 showed anything, it was that Bellator doesn’t have the supporting cast to make a PPV worth $45, no matter how exciting the main event promises to be.

On the lighter side of things (and it’s interesting commentary on MMA that a fighter tweeting a picture of his injured face is the lighter side), Eddie Alvarez shared a picture of his stitched-up, swollen eye. The shiner was probably worth the $160,000 Alvarez earned though; he was the highest paid fighter of the night.

Interestingly (and sadly), King Mo only made $10,000 despite being one of the most well-known fighters on the card. For reference, low-level journeyman Hector “Sick Dog” Ramirez (the very same Hector Ramirez that Forrest Griffin won a boring decision over way back at UFC 72) made $7,000 to lose on the prelims. Guess it’s not so good to be the king—unless you count meeting former WCW champ Diamond Dallas Page after the fight as part of Mo’s kingly benefits (which is pretty cool).

That’s all for now. Soak it up, because there might not be another Bellator news roundup until their next PPV.

Dana White Taunts “Djork” Rebney After Alvarez Win

UFC president Dana White wasted no time in taunting Bjorn Rebney in what must be considered a night of mixed feelings for the Bellator chief on Saturday.
Although there was plenty to enjoy on the night of Bellator 106, two fighters from the world&rsquo…

UFC president Dana White wasted no time in taunting Bjorn Rebney in what must be considered a night of mixed feelings for the Bellator chief on Saturday.

Although there was plenty to enjoy on the night of Bellator 106, two fighters from the world’s No. 2 MMA promotion were nevertheless left frustrated.

But it was the defeat of Bellator’s lightweight champion, Michael Chandler, at the hands of Eddie Alvarez that put the biggest smile on White’s face.

As he tweeted moments after the event:

Both the UFC and Bellator have been in a protracted bitter dispute over Alvarez, whose attempts to jump promotions to the UFC were scuppered over a contractual dispute.

After almost a year on the sidelines, Alvarez agreed to a rematch against Chandler, who took the Bellator 155-pound title from him in 2011. However, according media speculation on his new contract, Alvarez would be free to sign with the UFC should he lose to Chandler again, with his stock clearly diminished. If he wins the rematch, then he’s reportedly obligated to a third and final bout against Chandler, after which he’s free to sign with the UFC regardless, this time with his stock clearly raised.

In other words, Bellator had a lot riding on their stalwart champion defeating the troublesome Alvarez, who seems UFC-bound regardless.

But Alvarez’s win isn’t the only “karma” Rebney may have tasted on Saturday. The promotion had also invested heavily in promoting another former Zuffa (the parent company of the UFC) fighter, King Mo Lawal, who lost for the second time to Emanuel Newton.

And all that came on the back of the collapse of Bellator’s plans for its first-ever pay-per-view event, which would have been headlined by two former UFC veterans Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz. With Ortiz injured, the event was aired free on Spike TV instead with the Chandler vs. Alvarez fight becoming the main event.

Whatever White may have been referring to, Chandler and Alvarez once again put on one of the best fights of the year, giving Rebney some cause for celebration.

“If karma is that we just put on the best mixed martial arts fight I’ve ever seen, that’s karma I’ll take big boatloads of,” Rebney said following the event, according to MMA Junkie.

Is that just posturing? A GIF making the rounds on the internet, which shows Rebney shaking his head moments before putting the belt around Alvarez, may reveal his true feelings.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

‘Rampage vs. Tito’ Ticket Sales Confirm That Bellator Is Pretty Much F*cked, You Guys


(“Move it, asshole, you’re blocking the box!”)

By Matt Saccaro

The ticket sales for Bellator’s November 2nd pay-per-view debut are bad — basically as bad as they could possibly be less than a month out from the card.

On Friday, MMAJunkie’s John Morgan tweeted that the PPV had sold only approximately 1,700 tickets, with another 2,000 on consignment. Matt Roth of MMAMania noted just how dire the situation really is. He pointed out that the venue can hold over 13,000 people, meaning that Bellator would have to sell in the neighborhood of 10,000 tickets in less than 20 days to secure a sellout. That probably isn’t going to happen — not even if Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson became giants like in the awful trailer for the PPV.

Bjorn Rebney better be prepared to get a job at his dad’s Winnebago dealership; winter is coming for Bellator. Nobody is going to attend their PPV, and it’s probable that, at an expected price between $35-45, nobody is going to purchase their PPV either. Nobody gives a fuck about their product and their titles are considered worthless. If the UFC stacked three title fights on a card, you’d expect success, even if it were the titles for the three lightest weight classes. But with Bellator, which is offering three title fights on its PPV (although one is a dubious interim title), nobody knows or cares. Hell, we’re a site whose fanbase is comprised pretty much of entirely hardcore fans, and judging by the front page poll, a third of you never even watch Bellator. If they can’t get the hardcores, what fucking chance do they have at getting the casual fans to drop money on this PPV?

Even more concerning is a recent report from MMAPayout about Bellator 102, which UFC “star” Cheick Kongo headlined. The show’s gate was only $73,410.43. A paltry 1,482 people attended the show but nearly half of those tickets (604 of them to be precise) were comped. Now, are you ready to be really amazed? Let’s look at the salaries…


(“Move it, asshole, you’re blocking the box!”)

By Matt Saccaro

The ticket sales for Bellator’s November 2nd pay-per-view debut are bad — basically as bad as they could possibly be less than a month out from the card.

On Friday, MMAJunkie’s John Morgan tweeted that the PPV had sold only approximately 1,700 tickets, with another 2,000 on consignment. Matt Roth of MMAMania noted just how dire the situation really is. He pointed out that the venue can hold over 13,000 people, meaning that Bellator would have to sell in the neighborhood of 10,000 tickets in less than 20 days to secure a sellout. That probably isn’t going to happen — not even if Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson became giants like in the awful trailer for the PPV.

Bjorn Rebney better be prepared to get a job at his dad’s Winnebago dealership; winter is coming for Bellator. Nobody is going to attend their PPV, and it’s probable that, at an expected price between $35-45, nobody is going to purchase their PPV either. Nobody gives a fuck about their product and their titles are considered worthless. If the UFC stacked three title fights on a card, you’d expect success, even if it were the titles for the three lightest weight classes. But with Bellator, which is offering three title fights on its PPV (although one is a dubious interim title), nobody knows or cares. Hell, we’re a site whose fanbase is comprised pretty much of entirely hardcore fans, and judging by the front page poll, a third of you never even watch Bellator. If they can’t get the hardcores, what fucking chance do they have at getting the casual fans to drop money on this PPV?

Even more concerning is a recent report from MMAPayout about Bellator 102, which UFC “star” Cheick Kongo headlined. The show’s gate was only $73,410.43. A paltry 1,482 people attended the show but nearly half of those tickets (604 of them to be precise) were comped. Now, are you ready to be really amazed? Let’s look at the salaries.

Kongo made $60,000 for his fight against Mark Godbeer, who made $15,000. So the main event alone accounted for more money than the entire show made in ticket sales. The total salary payout for the entire card, including Kongo and Godbeer, was $308,000.

Subtract the gate from the salaries and you get $234,589.57 — that’s what Bellator lost on the show, or at least that’s the amount of money that Bellator needs to make up through sponsorships and other deals. “Well Viacom is rich and can take a loss on Bellator,” you say? True enough, it seems at first that Viacom could pull off the whole Ted Turner-WCW thing, but Viacom already paid $50 million for an inferior product and a Dana White lookalike. And that product is proving that it’s not financially sustainable. How much longer will Viacom decide to keep the sick man of MMA on life support?

It’s rare, but we’re going to have to agree with Dana White here: There’s no value to Bellator. The promotion still features some insanely talented fighters, but financially, they’re worse in the shit than Enron or WaMu. Get ready for Dana to add another name to the tombstone.