While the promotion announced the postponement of Bellator 244 earlier today, it appears Bellator MMA is looking to get back up and running. Per a report by MMA Fighting citing Bellator CEO Scott Coker, the Viacom-owned entity is looking to leverage the resources of its parent company, and run shows from a closed sound stage on a Hollywood studio lot.
ViacomCBS, as it is now known, has deep roots in the production world, making this a real possibility.
As things are currently planned, events will be run with less than 50 people. However, per Coker, Bellator is awaiting updated regulatory guidelines for live shows.
“We want to be back in there as soon as possible, but we want to do it the right way, and health and safety comes first,” Coker told the outlet. “This situation is real, and we’re going to do everything we can to protect our staff, our fighters and our contractors.
“We expect to get back to work and get all those protocols worked out sometime in the next 60 days, and we’re going to get right back to work after that,” he added.
Bellator’s last event was Bellator 240/Bellator Dublin at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on February 22. While Bellator 241 was planned for March 13, the plug was pulled on the eve of the show, as the coronavirus pandemic was continuing to grow.
America has quickly become the hardest-hit nation in the world in terms of both infections of SARS-CoV-2, and fatalities from the resulting disease, COVID-19.
