On Tuesday, February 9, Bellator MMA will be holding a “Special Announcement Press Conference” — and you can view it live, right here on Cageside Press.
Bellator was last in action in December, when Bellator 254 aired on CBS Sports Network. That card saw promotional darling and longtime women’s flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane dethroned, falling to undefeated top contender Juliana Velasquez.
Where the promotion goes from here is the question. Bellator went through a number of big changes in 2020 even as they navigated their way through the coronavirus pandemic. The #2 mixed martial arts promotion left longtime broadcast home Paramount Network, where it had remained since the cable channel was known as Spike TV. It jumped over to CBS Sports Network — a channel with a smaller reach in terms of homes (in the 60 million range for CBS Sports Net, vs. the 80 million range for Paramount), but whose content better aligned with the Bellator product.
The promotion also left its traditional Friday night timeslot (and occasional Saturdays) for Thursday night shows, although in terms of scheduling, it’s likely that nothing is set in stone.
Already in the second month of 2021, the promotion is no doubt ready to suit up and head back into the fray. With some big signings in 2020 — Anthony Johnson, Corey Anderson, and Yoel Romero among them — Bellator’s in-cage assets look as bright as they have for years. Expect the promotion to have details about their 2021 launch and more on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s press conference kicks off at 4PM ET — you can view the live stream above.
