Time is right for Bellator pay-per-view event
By BOB EMANUEL JR. | Scripps Howard News Service
Bellator MMA founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney adopted a stance on pay-per-view events from the start of the promotion. While never opposed to one, Rebney would not force the issue and believed a pay-per-view would come at the right time.
Apparently, November is the right time.
During the live Spike TV telecast of Bellator 97 last week, former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson took center cage with analyst Jimmy Smith. While Smith teased about a potential bout between Jackson and former boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., who sat cageside, the discussion quickly turned to another former UFC light heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz.
Ortiz joined the duo in the ring, and it was announced Ortiz would face Jackson in the main event of Bellator 106 on Nov. 2 at the Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach, Calif.
“There were a lot of different stars that needed to align,” Rebney said. “We needed to establish the brand on Spike obviously as a pre-eminent distribution platform for MMA content. We needed to do solid numbers in the first season. There was a lot of process and planning with Kevin Kay, who heads Spike, sitting down and strategizing on the right time and place.”
Both Ortiz and Jackson expressed their displeasure with the UFC during their careers. Ortiz, who was inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame a year ago, endured a public spat with UFC president Dana White for several years, which resulted in Ortiz’s separation from the company from March 2008 to November 2009. In recent years, it appeared Ortiz and White resolved their differences. Jackson had his own issues, starting with his decision to star in “The A-Team” movie and degrading into what he termed losing his “love for MMA.”
“I’m really excited to be part of Bellator and this event in general,” Ortiz said. “I got an offer I couldn’t refuse for my future, not only for my kids and my family, but my legacy of what I’ve done in mixed martial arts. I’ve tried to do everything beneath the sun in this sport to get it to where it is today, and everything I have is because of this sport … I’m healthy. My mind is in a good place. I have a boss that I no longer have to fight with that has my back.”
While the names on the marquee will loom bright for Bellator, injuries and age prevent Ortiz (38) and Jackson (35) from appearing in their prime. Both fighters are on three-fight losing streaks. Despite the records, Jackson (32-11) talked about the warrior spirit both he and Ortiz (16-11-1) still fight with.
“People age. People get older. People have injuries,” Jackson said. “One thing (the critics) don’t know about me and Tito, we have something that they will never have. We have heart. I’ve trained with Tito for years … It’s going to be tough to fight a good friend like Tito. At the end of the day, I trust that Tito wants to put on a show for the fans. That’s what he is. He’s a showman. I’m a showman.”
