Bellator Fighting Championship enjoyed considerable coverage when they announced the move to MTV2 from their previous home of Fox Sports Network. The announcement was received with questions ranging from differences in average viewership between the networks to which day the events would be broadcast. Left out of the conversation was the change in sponsorship opportunities for Bellator’s fighters.
MMAFA.tv has learned from sources close to Bellator Fighting Championship that the promotion is no longer allowing its fighters to receive sponsorship from poker sites and Condom Depot. Sources indicated that the move was requested, if not necessitated, by the MTV2 network in an effort to keep their station more suitable for teenagers and young adults.
Some agents and managers find the move to be hypocritical given the age demographic and other offerings on the MTV network. One agent said:
"[Bellator] says that it’s because MTV2 isn’t an acceptable audience for either sponsor. But look at the demographic they pull: males 19 - 35. So I don’t believe a word of it, because the majority of the people in that demographic are legally capable of gambling. What about Condom Depot? I mean, have you seen some of the stuff that’s on MTV2? Have they ever seen Skin, that show they have where underage kids are having sex with each other?"
For fighters under the Bellator promotion, the loss of a sponsor like Full Tilt Poker could be considerable. Fighters receive anywhere from $2500 - 8000 per event from the poker site, also known for its consistency as a sponsor. One agent noted:
"With [Full Tilt] off the table as a sponsor, there are things that our fighters are going to struggle with. There are bills to pay, some of which are medical bills for fights for Bellator. They won’t take care of it, and this sponsorship deal could have. A lot of other sponsors tell you that it’s not a good time, ‘we’re in a recession,’ and all of that. Full Tilt would have given us more security and also consistency."
One manager respected the decision but discussed the lack of notice on the part of Bellator in announcing the policy change.
"There are times where they give you such short notice that a sponsor won’t work. One time they told me the morning of the fight that they weren’t going to allow our fighter to have a certain sponsor on his shorts. We worked it out, but sometimes you just don’t know what’s going on. You might get a piece of paper notifying you, but often times you won’t. "
With the Bellator season four premiere airing tonight from Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, some are interested to see if any mention is made of the venue being a gambling site. One agent took a humorous outlook on Bellator’s sudden policy change.
“I just think the whole thing is funny. They’ve done plenty of shows at casinos. Are they going to have to hide that too? What’s so bad about condoms anyway? Condom Depot could act to counterbalance all of the sexualized programming on MTV2. Does Bellator have a problem with the practice of safe sex?”
“We want to make sure before we go forward with anything,” said Kizer. “We have to protect the rights of the fighter, and that means we have to be certain about everything.”