By Not Forcing Fans To Pick Sides, Bjorn Rebney Makes It Easy To Pick Bellator

Bjorn Rebney is many things. He’s the main figure behind the upstart Bellator FC promotion. He’s a very vocal man. He’s a man that’s not afraid to say controversial things. But he’s also very honest, and his main intention is clear: he wants to take Bellator to places it’s never been and see just how far this idea can go. He recently commented on Bellator and MTV2’s decision to move the time of their upcoming event up, so as not to compete with the UFC’s card scheduled for tonight. Here’s what he had to say, as well as my reaction.

Courtesy of Sherdog, Rebney recently said the following: “In my opinion, MMA’s the greatest sport on earth, so I think five hours of world class MMA is a very good thing… We will work with our partners at MTV to see where and when conflicts exist and then determine if we will push any programming an hour earlier… We are increasing our fan base and attention from not only the MMA fans but also from sports fans who are converting to the world’s greatest sport: MMA. “

I think this is a very smart move on the part of Bellator and I personally am quite thankful that they’re doing this. Although I’ve watched shows in tandem, it’s a rather difficult experience. Allow me to explain.

When there are two shows taking place at the same time, and this goes for all television and not just MMA programming, if you choose to watch both of them you’re pretty much choosing to only watch half of them. Think of it this way: even if you have two televisions set up side-by-side, it’s not like you can have one eye watch Bellator and the other watch the UFC. If you have to watch both at the same time, eventually your mind will make up its mind and watch one program more attentively than the other.

Now, sometimes this can be an o.k. and even enjoyable experience, like when a commercial break on one show perfectly syncs up with the start of a fight on another show. But that rarely happens. Eventually you’re forced to choose a side, and the one show you’re not watching as attentively suffers for it.

By moving their shows back an hour or so, Bellator is allowing us to have our cake and eat it too.

Who doesn’t like the idea of sitting down and watching MMA all day? I know I certainly do, especially when that MMA is live. UFC President Dana White has spoken at length about how one of the biggest appeals of an MMA card is its live nature, that’s one of the main reasons why the UFC has taken such a strong anti-piracy stance. The anticipation and excitement of a live MMA show is quite unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in any other sport, that’s why I’ve only had a passing interest in other sports while MMA has held my attention and turned me into a hardcore super-fan for several years running.

So, in the end, the point of this article is really just to say: thank you, Bjorn Rebney. I’m really enjoying the Bellator promotion, and I’m very glad that I won’t have to choose between it and the UFC, especially not when Bellator is facing competition like UFC 128, which is a stacked card from top to bottom.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your take on Bellator and MTV’s decision to move the timing back of this show, and perhaps all Bellator shows that take place on the same day as UFC shows?