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Monday, November 4, 2024

Who Are the Current Bellator Sponsors in 2023? (Biggest Deals)

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This is the largest reported financial deal for Bellator in the promotion’s history and has allowed it to grow its revenue, audience, and elite roster of fighters. It was a 5-year deal reported to be worth at least 0 million, so at least million per year. In return, DAZN broadcasted 15 Bellator events alongside Paramount Network and 7 exclusive events per year for a total of 22.

Bellator Sponsors

While the financials of the deal are undisclosed, it’s said to be worth around million to Bellator. The biggest broadcaster in Britain, the BBC, became a Bellator sponsor/partner in 2021 and replaced the previous deal Bellator had with Channel 5.

Monster Energy

As part of the sponsor, cbdMD is branded on Bellator’s fight canvas and padded cage pillars. Bellator joins its fighters who are partnered with CBD companies as a way to promote CBD benefits to fighters and athletes. CbdMD sells tinctures, topicals, capsules, edibles, and bath bombs. William Hill became Bellator’s exclusive gambling partner in February 2020. As part of the sponsor, William Hill’s logo is present on the fight canvas. Pluto TV became a Bellator sponsor in August 2020. Pluto TV is a free online streaming service supported by advertisers and owned by Paramount Global. The partnership fell through during the summer of 2020 because of Covid, at a time when Bellator had 250 fighter contracts to fulfill and DAZN was experiencing complications and reshuffling their business. The financials and length of the sponsor are undisclosed, but William Hill is still present at Bellator events in 2023 so it must’ve been at least a 4-year deal.

DAZN

The deal makes sense as Showtime was once the broadcaster of now-defunct MMA promotions, Elite XC and Strikeforce, so it has experience in MMA broadcasting. At that time, current Bellator CEO Scott Coker was the CEO of Strikeforce, so there’s an existing business relationship there.  The financials and length of the deal are undisclosed but it has the potential to be worth 8 figures ( million) plus, seeing as it’s a huge deal and one of Bellator’s most promoted sponsors. In this article, we’ll examine the current Bellator sponsors by looking through the biggest and most important deals they’ve struck. Bellator was given its own exclusive channel on Pluto TV, featuring live Bellator events and access to Bellator’s content library of previous events. The financials and length of the sponsorship are undisclosed, but Pluto TV is still advertised at Bellator events in 2023, so it was likely a 4-year deal.

William Hill

PEAK is known for its safety products such as windshield wash, wiper blades, and lighting, as well as motor oil and antifreeze. As part of the partnership, Monster started sponsoring many Bellator fighters, which started with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson back in 2014. This makes the deal great for Bellator, the fighters, and especially Monster as its brand is advertised widely.

Pluto TV

Monster Energy is also advertised at various locations around the arena of each Bellator event, and on the padded pillars inside the cage. Here’s a list of companies Bellator has aired events with: Signed in November 2022, Blackhawk Tire became the ‘official tire’ sponsor of Bellator. Blackhawk Tire is an American tire company part of the Sailun Tire Group which distributes to over 40 countries worldwide. Blackhawk sells tires for cars, trucks (passenger, commercial), and trailers.

BBC

Its best-selling product line is its PEAK brand, which is the line being sponsored at domestic Bellator events, on the fight canvas, and throughout Bellator’s online media channels via co-branded posts.  In February 2023, Bellator and the BBC signed a multi-year extension, which is part of Bellator’s strategy to become the dominant MMA promotion in Europe. The financials and length of the deal are undisclosed. As part of the sponsorship, the Blackhawk Tire logo is branded on the Bellator fight canvas, in different locations around the arena of a Bellator event, and on co-branded social media posts (all online channels). The partnership started at Bellator 288 on November 18, 2022.

Showtime

As of January 2023, Pluto TV has 80 million active users around the world, which is great for the growth of Bellator. While DAZN is no longer a Bellator sponsor/partner, the deal signed in 2018 was a huge milestone for Bellator and an important one in the MMA promotion’s growth. Are you wondering who the current Bellator sponsors are in 2023? The deal likely represents a decent chunk of change for Bellator, however, it’s undisclosed at this time. The length of the sponsorship is unknown, as are the financials, but it’s believed to be worth around .5 million. CbdMD became a Bellator sponsor in 2019 with a multi-year deal and the two announced an extension of their partnership in July 2021. It’s unknown when the new deal expires, but it’s likely to be until 2024/2025.

CbdMD

Bellator has had dozens of sponsors since the promotion was founded in 2008, many of which are no longer with them. The MMA promotion is always on the lookout for new sponsors as it looks to continue growing its audience and revenue to eventually turn a profit. Overall, Bellator is one of the biggest MMA promotions and they’ve been partnering with many sponsors in the last 5 years in order to collect large sums of money and reinvest in the promotion’s growth. Here are some extra Bellator sponsors which represent smaller deals with undisclosed financials and lengths of sponsorship.

Blackhawk Tire

You may also be interested in the current UFC sponsors and the ONE Championship sponsors to see how different MMA promotions do business. It’s also likely the sponsorship was extended another 3 or 4 years and therefore runs until 2024/2025. As part of the deal, Monster Energy has commanded the center of Bellator’s fight canvas at every event with the largest branding for almost a decade. In sponsorship date order, here are the biggest of the current Bellator sponsors, followed by a list of the smaller deals they’ve also signed.

Old World Industries (PEAK Brand)

As part of the deal, BBC became the UK’s exclusive broadcaster of Bellator events. This means all Bellator events are free to live stream and watch back on the BBC iPlayer for the huge MMA audience in the UK. Showtime became a Bellator sponsor and partner starting at Bellator 255 in April 2021. Showtime is an American TV network and streaming platform for movies, series, documentaries, and sports.  Monster Energy became the official ‘energy drink’ sponsor of Bellator in February 2014 by signing a 4-year deal.  A showtime subscription is .99 per month, and adding Bellator MMA to its collection alongside football and boxing is a great business move. 

Other Bellator Sponsors

This was extended a further 3 years in 2018, taking the sponsorship to 2021. And while there wasn’t news of a further extension (for reasons unknown), Monster Energy remains a Bellator sponsor in 2023. The financials of the deal are also unknown but each extension’s likely worth around million or more.

  • Mola – an interactive streaming service that’s now Italy’s exclusive Bellator broadcaster, advertised on the fight canvas
  • VetTix – advertised on the top padding of the fight cage, VetTix teamed up with Bellator to provide free tickets to current military and veterans
  • 7-Eleven Hawai’i – food and drink store advertised inside the black circle on the fight canvas and also on padded cage pillars
  • Rebel – convenience store advertised inside the black circle on the fight canvas, on padded cage pillars, and on social media accounts: ‘Monster Energy Prelims fueled by REBEL’
  • Aloha Island Mart – convenience store advertised inside the black circle on the fight canvas and on padded cage pillars
  • Pechanga Resort Casino – resort/casino advertised on the fight canvas and padded cage pillars

Old World Industries became a Bellator sponsor starting at Bellator 288 on November 18, 2022. Old World Industries is an American chemical and automotive business which ships to over 60 countries globally.

  • Epix
  • ESPN Deportes
  • CMT
  • Spike TV
  • CBS Sports Network
  • Fox Sports
  • Paramount Network

The Bottom Line

It also helps bring Bellator MMA to more American viewers as Showtime’s also on cable TV, whereas DAZN is a subscription streaming service only. Lastly, both Bellator and Showtime are owned by ViacomCBS. As part of the sponsor, Showtime is now the home for at least two live Bellator events per month. Showtime has a spot on Bellator’s fight canvas, cage pillars, and the tale of the tape, and is advertised at the end of fight highlights and other commercial breaks.

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