MTV2 Becomes Home to Bellator Fighting Championships

NEW YORK: A new three-year agreement sees the mixed martial arts Bellator Fighting Championships airing on MTV2 starting in 2011.

The 12-week, eight-man tournaments are featured in respective weight classes. MTV2 will air two of these live tournaments per year, along with a collection of special feature events. The first tournament to air on MTV2 from the deal will premiere in March 2011.

"MTV2 is the perfect home for the intense mixed martial arts action of Bellator," said Eric Conte, the senior VP of programming and production at MTV2. "MMA is at the top of our audience’s wish list, and partnering with Bellator to bring live events and specials to MTV2 made complete sense since our viewers are so hungry to see more MMA on-air."

"We are thrilled to partner with MTV2 ,which has such a strong audience of hard-to-reach young guys," added Bjorn Rebney, Bellator chairman and CEO. "With a time slot on a prominent nationally-distributed cable network aimed at young men, we now have the perfect platform to showcase our exciting, action-packed tournaments and fighters."