Bellator TV Deal Done (English, Spanish, Live), Ray Sefo To Debut For Strikeforce, Aina vs Evangelista Changed To NC

Bellator Talks TV Deal, Champs, and Future

After announcing a postponement to their second season due to signing a TV deal, Bellator now says that the TV deal is done, and they will announce the details on the deal soon.  The deal is said to bring Bellator to 150 million households with live events in both Spanish and English.  Sherdog reports:

[The TV deal] is finished, it’s done. We’ll be announcing it very, very shortly — in all likelihood, within the next 12 days. We have a situation set up now where we’ll be able to give over 150 million people each week the opportunity to tune in and watch what we’re doing, and that’s a very exciting thing…We are not turning our backs on the Hispanic market of MMA fans who supported us in the first season. You will be able to watch the show in both Spanish and English language next season…One thing that fans were miserly about was the fact that the telecasts would usually be on a tape-delay. Are you addressing this?…You’ll be able to watch Bellator season two live. There were a lot of issues at play that were reasons for the delay last season, but we’re not constrained by that moving forward.

150 million viewers seems like a pretty big number here.  For example, Spike TV is in 98 million homes, ESPN and ESPN 2 is close to 100 million homes, and ESPN Deportes is somewhere around 4 to 6 million homes.  A combination of ESPN2, ESPN 360, and ESPN Deportes would bring them close to the 150 million household mark.  Another consideration is ESPN International, which has about 120 million housholds around the world.

So what about their champs?  It looks like Bellator has softened their stance on letting their champs fight outside of their promotion:

We’ve been working diligently to secure right kind of match-ups for our champions: Hector, Eddie Alvarez, Lyman Good, and Joe Soto. They’ll be fighting in the interim. They won’t be waiting until we crown a number-one challenger in the season’s tournaments. They’ll fight either in strategic alliances we have with other promotions, or they’ll be fighting at the beginning of the season in feature bouts, perhaps outside of their weight divisions.

We already know that Eddie Alvarez has contracts with DREAM and Strikeforce as well, so, it appears that Alvarez's next fight may happen in October for either DREAM or Strikeforce.  In terms of season 2, here is what Bellator said we can look forward to:

Bellator also has plans to add light heavyweight, heavyweight and possibly bantamweight divisions. They’re also considering a women’s tournament if they can round up enough quality talent.

More after the Jump...

Ray Sefo Set To Debut For Strikeforce On September 25th Challengers Show

Strikeforce has just announced their co-main event for the next Challengers show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and its quite the name for those who have been following K-1 for quite some time.

NEW YORK (August 24, 2009)-K-1 legend and five-time world kickboxing champion, Ray "Sugarfoot" Sefo (1-0), will make his STRIKEFORCE mixed martial arts (MMA) debut when he takes on Kevin "The Shaman" Jordan (11-7)in a heavyweight contest on the SHOWTIME televised portion of the STRIKEFORCE: Challengers event at Tulsa, Oklahoma’s SpiritBank Event Center on Friday, September 25.    The 38 year-old Sefo, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 250 pounds, boasts the highest KO percentage in K-1’s 16 year history. In 2007, he relocated from his native New Zealand to Las Vegas, Nevada and adopted Randy "The Natural" Couture’s Xtreme Couture camp as his new training ground.

The next Strikeforce card is set to feature some pretty talented prospects such as Zack Cummings (10-0), Paul Bradley (11-1) and Tyron Woodley (3-0), along with some other notable names such as Tim Kennedy, Ray Sefo, and UFC veteran fighter Kevin Jordan.  Here is the announced card so far, which is shaping up nicely:

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS: SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 ON SHOWTIME
venue: SpiritBank Event Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma

-Tim Kennedy (9-0) vs. Zak Cummings (10-0)
-Ray Sefo (1-0) vs. Kevin Jordan (11-7)
-Tyron Woodley vs TBA
-Paul Bradley (11-1) vs TBA

Main card airs live on Showtime in the United States at 11:00 PM (ET/PT)

Mike Aina vs Billy Evangelista Changed To NC By CSAC

Sherdog reports:

LOS ANGELES -- After much deliberation, the California State Athletic Commission removed the only loss from Billy Evangelista’s record Monday and replaced it with a no decision during an appeals hearing.

Evangelista’s bout with Mike Aina at Strikeforce Challengers Series 1 on May 15 in Fresno, Calif., ended with a controversial knee that video replays showed struck Aina in the shoulder, not the head as originally determined by referee Herb Dean.

"I’m glad the loss is taken off the record. I just think I fought a great fight and everybody else saw that I was winning the bout," Evangelista told Sherdog.com following the CSAC’s ruling.

This is pretty good news for Billy Evangelista and for Strikeforce, who can once again promote and feature their undefeated prospect in upcoming Challengers shows.  It is rumored that Billy Evangelista will headline an October Challengers event and possibly take on Jorge Gurgel, who is coming off of a memorable victory over Conor Huen. The winner of this bout will most likely become an immediate contender in the LW division.  Conor Huen, Bam Ludwig, Lyle Beerbohm, and Mike Aina are other Strikeforce LW prospects that will also be featured in upcoming Challenger events.  MMAJunkie reported on the potential matchup last month:

The fight features former UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel (13-5) vs. longtime Strikeforce fighter and top prospect Billy Evangelista (9-1).

Gurgel recently posted a series of Twitter updates about the fight, which headlines a Showtime broadcast at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.