Sherdog’s Top 10: Bellator MMA Moments

2. Viacom Purchase

Following the UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce in early 2011, it seemed as if the sport’s giant had vanquished its competition once and for all. Sure, Bellator was still hanging around, but it had a limited profile on regional Fox Sports networks and was almost always tape-delayed. It was, to put it mildly, nowhere close to being an actual threat.

First came a move to MTV2 early in 2011, which allowed the promotion to consistently broadcast live. However, that was just an appetizer for what came next: Viacom’s purchase of Bellator in October of the same year. In January 2013, Bellator moved to Spike TV with much fanfare and a massive media blitz. Spike was the longtime home of both the UFC and a built-in audience of fans used to associating the network with mixed martial arts, and Bellator’s audience increased four- or five-fold almost overnight.

To accompany the move, Bellator picked up a number of recognizable faces, including Tito Ortiz, Quinton Jackson, Muhammad Lawal and Renato Sobral. This in itself marked a massive change from the promotion’s previous business practices, and together these developments inaugurated its new path as a rival, if not a true competitor, to the UFC.

Number 1 » Their rivalry convinced fans and media of the promotion’s legitimacy and its deserved place in the sport. This is no knock on the other talented fighters the promotion has featured over the years but simple recognition of the fact that they demonstrated that Bellator could be a true home to some of the cream of the world’s talent.