Ever since it was announced that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was interested in Nate Marquardt, there’s been a bit of a debate on whether or not Bellator should really sign the former UFC Middleweight Championship contender that quickly became the central point of one of the biggest MMA controversies of the year. Multiple Bellator fighters, including Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard, have vocally called out Marquardt. However, it now appears that Bellator won’t be able to sign Nate “The Great” after all. Here are all the details. ...

It’s very interesting to contrast and compare fight promoters. At the top of the list is, of course, the brash, foul-mouthed UFC President, Dana White. Then there’s the soft-spoken but very smart Scott Coker. And before that, there was Tom Atencio with Affliction, and Gary Shaw with Elite XC. But there’s also Bjorn Rebney, the main man behind the upstart Bellator FC promotion. And while I’ve had my disagreements with him in the past, I definitely respect him for his ability to keep his promotion afloat at a time when many mainstream fans consider MMA a one-promotion sport. Faced with sagging ratings, Rebney recently sat down and gave an interesting look at Bellator’s future. Here are all the details. ...

This Saturday, upstart promotion Bellator FC will hold another live, weekly event on the MTV2 network. After opening to high ratings, Bellator’s broadcasts have begun to slip in viewership while paradoxically improving in quality. But let’s not rush to conclusions, it’s far too soon to say whether or not Bellator will be a long-term success or failure on MTV2. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney recently said just that in a new interview. Here are the highlights. ...

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. ...

As the upstart Bellator FC promotion continues to grow and attract viewers, many are wondering what the future holds for the promotion’s efforts on television. Bellator has suffered through a much-maligned partnership with Fox Sports Net, with many of their shows being tape-delayed and preempted. Earlier this month it was rumored that Bellator would be switching from FSN to the more-popular FX network, and now Bellator’s future on TV has finally been decided. Coming way out of left field, Bellator recently announced that they had signed a three-year deal with MTV2. Here are all the details. ...

Through its use of savvy marketing and clever match-making alongside a growing roster of great up-and-coming as well as established talent, the Bellator FC promotion has quietly yet quickly emerged as the #3 promotion in Mixed Martial Arts, behind Strikeforce and the juggernaut that is the UFC. Recently, Bellator took an important step forward in their struggle for mainstream relevancy and fan acceptance. It seems as if the surging promotion has traded up in their ongoing relationship with Fox Entertainment Group: they’ll be trading tape-delayed and often-preempted shows on Fox Sports Net for live, weekly coverage on FX. Here are all the details. ...

The back and forth between CEO's Bjorn Rebney and Scott Coker has gone on long enough, with no resolution in sight. I don't think there was really any outcry for a Gilbert Melendez vs Eddie Alvarez fight to begin with, at least not until both champions of their respective organization's went on a media frenzy calling out one another like kids before recess. Would I like to see this fight? Absolutely. But, according Rebney, it looks like the possibility of a match up between these two stellar lightweights seems to be thinning as we speak. Bjorn, the Bellator owner and founder, has now responded in kind to Coker, the Strikeforce CEO, asking him to "Have (Gilbert Melendez) stop talking about the fight, so that Eddie can not have to respond to it and I don’t have to respond to it, or just sit down with me and let’s work it out". ...

The once-friendly rivalry between Bellator FC and Strikeforce has begun to fully emerge as a real-life MMA promotional war. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has been on the attack for the last several weeks, his latest salvo involved the posting of text messages online that show him frequently talking to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker about a supposed “Champion vs. Champion” match revolving around Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez and Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had in fact denied receiving any texts from Rebney prior to these texts going online. Not phased in the slightest and definitely not amused, the soft-spoken Coker recently said that Rebney simply texted a number that is no longer used and that his “high school” tactics are detrimental to a working relationship. ...

The back and forth between CEO's Bjorn Rebney and Scott Coker has been well documented. Without question both Bellator and Strikeforce are two of the top-tier promotions in the business (behind the UFC) and have become so by consistently putting on some of the best fights in recent memory. Now with the acquisition of world class fighters within each promotion, it has been Bjorn, the Bellator CEO, that has gone out of his way to get in touch with Scott Coker of Strikeforce. However, Coker has refuted claims that Bjorn has contacted him, let alone text him. Rebney upped the ante recently when he released pictures indicating otherwise. ...

While it’s flown under the radar (for the most part) when it comes to mainstream MMA, upstart promotion Bellator FC has embedded itself in all the right places and remains popular on the underground, hardcore MMA scene. With a combination of savvy viral video marketing and a lot of great up-and-coming talent, Bellator continues to not only survive, but thrive. Recently, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney spoke at length about the future of his promotion, including calls for more Strikeforce vs. Bellator “Champion vs. Champion” super-fights. ...

As the year is coming closer to an end, the now annual World MMA Awards, which is hosted by Fighters Only Magazine, has recently announced their finalists for the December 1st event, which will take place once again in Las Vegas, Nev., which has become a hot bed for all things fighting related. The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States. ...

A fight between Strikeforce lightweight champion "El Nino" Gilbert Melendez (18-2) and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2) is in the works. We are finally starting to see cross-promotional fights that the fans have been clamoring for since the days of Pride Fighting Championships. ...

Bellator's welterweight semifinals take place May 20 and the match-ups have been officially announced with Ryan Thomas (13-4) getting a second chance against Ben Askren (4-0). ...

Yesterday on MMA Gospel Radio we had a massive three hour show with five amazing guests, one of which was Ryan Thomas (12-4) who just recently lost via one of the worst stoppages in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. He lost to Ben Askren (4-0) via a non verbal submission due to an arm triangle. The referee thought he had gone out when he was not even close to being put to sleep. What follows is MMA Gospel's interview with Ryan, done by Gary Friedman, that aired last night. This is the first installment of that amazing interview. ...

Bellator has called a video press conference for Monday at 3 PM EST that streams live from Bellator.com. This press conference is expected to be when they announce the signing of former UFC lightweight "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-3-1). ...

It was announced today that Bellator just inked 6-foot, 3-inch "The Beast" Bryan Baker (11-1) for the season two middleweight tournament. The constant announcements of signed fighters for the up-coming season means we will see plenty of exciting fights. Bellator is doing exactly what they need to in order to build the organization but will the fans show their support and buy tickets? ...