Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in the United States. "Bellator", which is Latin for "Warrior", organizes its events into seasons with each event hosting the rounds of championship knockout tournaments for three-five weight divisions.[2]
Bellator broadcasts its fights nationally in the United States through an exclusive television agreement with ESPN Deportes. Bellator will also be broadcast to countries around the world through a collection of broadcast agreements. Due to its success in its first season, Bellator returned for a second season on April 8, 2010 with a bigger audience on NBC, FOX Sports Net, Telemundo[3], Mun2[4] and The Score.[5] CEO Bjorn Rebney has also said he would like to get it on pay-per-view.[6] On December 3, 2010, it was announced that Bellator had secured a TV deal to air their events live on the FX channel beginning in 2011,[7] but the deal fell through and on December 14th, 2010, Bellator will instead be broadcasted live on the MTV2 and Tr3s channels. The deal is for three years and it begun airing Bellator's fourth season in March 2011.[8] Bellator Season 5 will begin on September 10 with the eight man welterweight tournament in Atlantic City, NJ. [9]
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Bellator employs Zuffa's rules, with one minor alteration for the first two rounds of the tournament, where elbows to the head are not allowed. Unlike most promotions which use a polygonal cage, Bellator Fighting Championships use a circular cage.
In the first season each tournament winner would be able to earn up to $175,000 for three wins. Fighters eliminated from tournament competition would also be compensated, with opening-round winners receiving $25,000, semifinalists getting $50,000, and finalists netting $100,000. Non-tournament bouts and female fights were also promoted in the first season.[10]
For the second season Bellator changed the accumulated winnings from $175,000 to $100,000.
For its Tournaments, Bellator currently uses eight weight classes under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts:
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season One (April 3, 2009 - June 19, 2009)
| Weight Division | Champion | Runnerup | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight |  Hector Lombard |
 Jared Hess |
Bellator 12 |
| Welterweight | Lyman Good |
 Omar De La Cruz |
Bellator 11 |
| Lightweight | Eddie Alvarez |
Toby Imada |
Bellator 12 |
| Featherweight | Joe Soto |
 Yahir Reyes |
Bellator 10 |
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Two (April 8, 2010 - June 24, 2010)
| Weight Division | Champion | Runnerup | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight |  Alexander Shlemenko |
Bryan Baker |
Bellator 23 |
| Welterweight | Ben Askren |
Dan Hornbuckle |
Bellator 22 |
| Lightweight | Pat Curran |
Toby Imada |
Bellator 21 |
| Featherweight | Joe Warren |
 Patricio Freire |
Bellator 23 |
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Three (August 12, 2010 - October 28, 2010)
| Weight Division | Champion | Runnerup | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | Cole Konrad |
 Neil Grove |
Bellator 32 |
| Bantamweight | Zach Makovsky |
Ed West |
Bellator 32 |
| Women's (115 lbs.) | Zoila Gurgel |
 Megumi Fujii |
Bellator 34 |
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Four (March 5, 2011 - May 21, 2011)
| Weight Division | Champion | Runnerup | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Heavyweight |  Christian M'Pumbu |
Richard Hale |
Bellator 45 |
| Welterweight | Jay Hieron |
Rick Hawn |
Bellator 43 |
| Lightweight | Michael Chandler |
Patricky Freire |
Bellator 44 |
| Featherweight | Patricio Freire |
Daniel Straus |
Bellator 45 |
Bellator Fighting Championships: 2011 Summer Series (June 25, 2011 - August 27, 2011)
| Weight Division | Champion | Runnerup | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featherweight | Pat Curran |
Marlon Sandro |
Bellator 48 |
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Five (September 17, 2011 - TBA)
| Weight Division | Champion | Runnerup | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | |||
| Middleweight | |||
| Welterweight | |||
| Bantamweight |
| Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) | Cole Konrad |
October 14, 2010 (Bellator 32) | 0 |
| Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) | Christian M'Pumbu |
May 21, 2011 (Bellator 45) | 0 |
| Middleweight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) | Hector Lombard |
June 19, 2009 (Bellator 12) | 1 |
| Welterweight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | Ben Askren |
October 21, 2010 (Bellator 33) | 0 |
| Lightweight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) | Eddie Alvarez |
June 19, 2009 (Bellator 12) | 1 |
| Featherweight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) | Joe Warren |
September 2, 2010 (Bellator 27) | 0 |
| Bantamweight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) | Zach Makovsky |
October 14, 2010 (Bellator 32) | 0 |
| Women's 115 lbs. | 115 lb (52 kg; 8.2 st) | Zoila Gurgel |
October 28, 2010 (Bellator 34) | 0 |
Cole Konrad (current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Winner)
Neil Grove (Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament Runner-Up) Christian M'Pumbu (current Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, Season 4 Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner)
Richard Hale (Season 4 Light Heavyweight Tournament Runner-Up) Hector Lombard (current Bellator Middleweight Champion, Season 1 Middleweight Tournament Winner)
Alexander Shlemenko (Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Winner)
Bryan Baker (Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Runner-Up)
Jared Hess (Season 1 Middleweight Tournament Runner-Up) Ben Askren (current Bellator Welterweight Champion, Season 2 Welterweight Tournament Winner)
Lyman Good (former Bellator Welterweight Champion, Season 1 Welterweight Tournament Winner)
Rick Hawn (Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Runner-Up)
Jay Hieron (Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Winner)
Dan Hornbuckle (Season 2 Welterweight Tournament Runner-Up) Eddie Alvarez (current Bellator Lightweight Champion, Season 1 Lightweight Tournament Winner)
Pat Curran (Season 2 Lightweight Tournament Winner)
Michael Chandler (Season 4 Lightweight Tournament Winner)
Patricky Freire (Season 4 Lightweight Tournament Runner-Up)
Toby Imada (Seasons 1 & 2 Lightweight Tournament Runner-Up) Joe Warren (current Bellator Featherweight Champion, Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Winner)
Patricio Freire (Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Runner-Up, Season 4 Featherweight Tournament Winner)
Joe Soto (former Bellator Featherweight Champion, Season 1 Featherweight Tournament Winner)
Daniel Straus (Season 4 Featherweight Tournament Runner-Up)
Yahir Reyes (Season 1 Featherweight Tournament Runner-Up)
Pat Curran (Summer Series 2011 Featherweight Tournament Winner) Zach Makovsky (current Bellator Bantamweight Champion, Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament Winner)
Ed West (Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament Runner-Up) Zoila Gurgel (current Bellator Women's Champion, Season 3 Women's Tournament Winner)
Megumi Fujii (Season 3 Women's Tournament Runner-Up)
