Bellator Fighting Championships Partners With Ultimate Bet
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 4, 2010 12:33 PM EST
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CHICAGO, Ill. (Feb. 4, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships, the nationally televised mixed martial arts promotion, has formed an exclusive sponsorship alliance with leading online poker site UB.net designed to leverage the two companies’ synergistic demographics and powerful online presences.
This first-of-its-kind, fully integrated partnership will introduce Bellator to the tens of millions of online poker players worldwide who visit UB.net every month while increasing awareness of the UB.net brand among the millions of MMA fans available through Bellator’s new groundbreaking television alliance with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo beginning April 8th.
- From a press release put out by Bellator Fighting Championships
The release goes on to say that they will provide tournaments in which the winner will receive and all expenses paid trip to attend live BFC events. Also, UB will be featured on Bellator events and Bellator will be featured on the UB site.
All in all this sounds like a positive partnership and if Bellator is managing to get deals that allow them to put on more seasons featuring top prospects, I'm all for it.
Full press release after the break.
CHICAGO, Ill. (Feb. 4, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships, the nationally televised mixed martial arts promotion, has formed an exclusive sponsorship alliance with leading online poker site UB.net designed to leverage the two companies’ synergistic demographics and powerful online presences.
This first-of-its-kind, fully integrated partnership will introduce Bellator to the tens of millions of online poker players worldwide who visit UB.net every month while increasing awareness of the UB.net brand among the millions of MMA fans available through Bellator’s new groundbreaking television alliance with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo beginning April 8th.
"We’re super excited to tie the new UB logo to Bellator—the hottest MMA success story of 2009—and are proud to partner with them in their sophomore year," said Paul Leggett, chief operations officer of Tokwiro, the owner/operator of UB.net.
"Last year, we watched from the sidelines as the new kid on the MMA block delivered some of the most explosive moments in televised fighting sports history; this year, we’re elated to jump in the cage as an active player in the Bellator phenomenon, while exposing the UB brand to more than 250 million homes across the U.S."
Under the terms of the agreement, UB.net will have a prominent presence on all Bellator broadcasts and at Bellator.com as well as a substantial on-site presence at each of the promotion’s events in 2010. Bellator, meanwhile, will have a major presence on the UB.net Web site. UB.net will also sponsor online tournaments that give players the opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid trip to sit cage-side at Bellator events.
"Bellator’s fans have great synergy with UB’s multi-million player group: they’re young, successful and drawn to exciting, fast-paced competition," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "This alliance will be great for both companies and we are thrilled to be partnered with UB.net."
Each of Bellator’s 24 events during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed 30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.
For more information, please visit Bellator.com or UB.net.
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Is this what was necessary to cause mma payout and others to continue their hard hitting journalism about how .net poker sites are illegal that coincidentally dropped off the face of the earth when the UFC banned poker advertising?
by Phildo on Feb 4, 2010 12:05 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I like you...
You’re always around to remind people of the double standard. Keep up the good work.
I'm like PacMan fightin you silly kids... throw ya Hatton the ring, and get knocked outlike Ricky did.
lol.
Seems odd that a fight promotion would want to get involved with a company with
a history that includes an online betting scandal where company insiders were cheating the online bettors by playing accounts that allowed them to see the opponents hole cards.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4469723&name=poker
Cheating gamblers don’t seem to be something they should want to tie themselves too, especially given the relative infancy of this sport. And the low pay scales of some of the fighters.
I’m not suggesting that any of the fights would get fixed, but UB has a history of fixing betting and I would think even the suggestion is something that should be avoided.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 12:19 PM EST reply actions
That’s been cleared up and UB has done all the right things to address the situation. I wouldn’t hold it against UB honestly
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 4, 2010 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
People in positions of power at UB net stole from there clients in a betting scandal
Those people may or may not have been all fired, we have know way of knowing other than an internal audit done by the company to know what happened.
The point is who you partner with reflects on you. If you choose to partner with a company that rigged betting then that reflects on you.
I don’t know anything about UB’s new ownership other than what they tell me so I have reservations about the company and whether they are above board considering past history.
Bellator should too.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 1:05 PM EST up reply actions
Russ Hamilton was only a consultant. The COMPANY did NOT “rig betting”
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 4, 2010 1:29 PM EST up reply actions
There was more than one person involved
From what I’ve read the names of all the people were never released by the company so no one could ever be charged with anything.
The fact is that it is all very shady and reflects poorly on all involved. And Bellator have now bought into that cloud of suspicion.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 1:39 PM EST up reply actions
Do you believe "consultant's" have access to sensitive areas such as this?
The fact is that it happened and you are defending them vehemently. Why? No accusations, but do you need to make a full disclosure statement for us?
He was clearly given access to coding but the story as it was fully told was that the company was not aware of this. Now, you can say you don’t believe that. BUT, I’m not going to allow people to frame this as “the company rigged betting” when that isn’t based on fact.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 4, 2010 3:56 PM EST up reply actions
Fair enough.
It is hard for me to swallow that an independent consultant was given access to the proprietary secrets of this company (ie coding) without supervision and allowed to “job” the system. If this company has the financial wherewithall to sponsor Bellator AFTER this debacle, someone knows something about business. This still smells fishy to me.
Even if we say that the actual company had nothing to do with it...
Is it fair to say that many people perceive it to have been involved. And that that perception may cause some people to feel that if it happened once it can happen again.
If we agree with that then how can we no say that this perception may tarnish the image of a partner who has a “exclusive sponsorship alliance”, and possibly the industry as a whole.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
The only oversite this company has is something called the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC)
Until the online gambling industry is regulated then we can never be sure if its above board. And don’t give me the “they have too much to lose so they must be honest” arguement, it was done once.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahnawake_Gaming_Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokwiro_Enterprises
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions
IM ALL IN
this is great for i play on ub every day and its my main source of income…. Never been to a MAJOR show so maybe ill try to win some seats…
have u ever even been in a fight??
by MMAJUNKIE__83 on Feb 4, 2010 12:21 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Bad move associating with a company that stole millions from it’s customers
by Roujam on Feb 4, 2010 12:30 PM EST via mobile reply actions
THEY didn't steal millions...
you guys should really read more about the story.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 4, 2010 12:59 PM EST up reply actions
Perception is reality as they say. Yes, they have new ownership who helped to clear up the wrongdoings of the previous owners but, it is still the same name. If I recall correctly the UB scandal even made 60 minutes.
"For some reason Dana White doesn't like me, and I don't care enough to find out why. So he can go pound sand up his ass as far as I'm concerned."
Don Frye
by keyboardwarrior on Feb 4, 2010 1:02 PM EST up reply actions
There is alot if people from 2p2 who saw what happened from potripper on absolute to the ub stuff, I know what happenned.
by Roujam on Feb 4, 2010 1:31 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Oh Bellator...
I’ve been to two Bellator events…both sleepers. They really should change the promotion name to “Tiger Schulmann Fighting Championship”.
60 minutes wouldn't do a story if no one cared.
And one set of people who might care are regulators… The online Poker industry isn’t legal in the US and partnering with the poster child for it’s biggest scandal could effect getting regulatory bodies too approve the sport.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 1:31 PM EST reply actions
Yea, the relationships ft and ub had with the UFC and continues to have with a bunch of fighters in other shows sure caused a lot of regulatory problems.
Hasn't the UFC banned online gambling as advertisers?
This could be part of the reason.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 1:44 PM EST up reply actions
spike did, who knows the reason.
But mma is not legal everywhere in the US, should people not want to associate with that?
I don't actually have anything against online gambling
I bet online myself, but it may be something that is looked at if your a regulator. They check into that sort of thing. If your sport is receiving money from a company that seems to have fixed betting, it won’t help.
The leap for some people may be, “if they fixed poker what else have they fixed”.
Not saying its reality but perception often drives these things more than reality.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 1:54 PM EST up reply actions
Fox TV shows don't need to pass the kind of stiff Regulatory approval that the MMA does.
and they have people in Ontario and New York looking for things to fight the approval of the sport.
The “Human Cockfighting” is starting to be overcome why would the sport need to attach itself to the taint of a betting scandal.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 2:40 PM EST reply actions
The "Human Cockfighting" is starting to be overcome
no, it’s pretty well dead
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Feb 4, 2010 3:57 PM EST up reply actions
you mean this guy?
“They have cleaned up the sport to the point, at least in my view, where it is not human cockfighting any more. I think they’ve made significant progress. They haven’t made me a fan, but they have made progress.”
by Phildo on Feb 4, 2010 4:42 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
OK let's imagine that no closed minded individuals out there view it as Human Cockfighting
Why would they give people against allowing regulation ammo to use against regulation.
Why make it tougher?
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 5:37 PM EST up reply actions
Or look to connect themselves with something viewed as shady
There’s a reason UB isn’t an NFL corporate sponsor, and it probably isn’t Money.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 5:49 PM EST up reply actions
Do you not think Full tilt or Pokerstars would pay the money to purchase adds in the NFL time slots
The NFL just won’t let them. The don’t want the brand tarnished. Further I’m saying the UB brand carries with it much more tarnish than the Full Tilt or Pokerstars.
If the goal is to become a mainstream sport and possible a top 5 than these are missteps they need to avoid.
MMA needs their better organizations, which includes Bellator to conduct themselves as a world class sport. The “dress for the job you want” theory. If not it will have a much harder time not being see as an organized bar brawl in the minds of some.
by six_fish_charlie on Feb 4, 2010 7:17 PM EST reply actions
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