HispanicBusiness

New kid on the mixed martial arts (MMA) block Bellator Fighting Championships has announced it will join forces with 100-year old Everlast, the world's leading manufacturer of fight sports equipment.
Everlast will exclusively provide Bellator its training and fighting equipment, while also producing a co-branded line of fight equipment, to be available nationwide via both internet and retail sale.

With the rise in popularity of the UFC and Strikeforce, mixed martial arts has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, particularly among a targeted advertising demographic - young men.
Bellator, which translates to "warrior" in Latin, is the creator of a nationally-televised MMA show featured on FOX Sports Net.

"This is a proud moment for Bellator," said the company's founder and CEO, Bjorn Rebney. "Everlast is one of America's most iconic brands and they have a 100-year history of providing the best-quality equipment for professional and amateur fighters around the world. We are thrilled that our fighters will be using Everlast gear and are also very pleased to have Everlast's support as a category-exclusive sponsor."

Adam Geisler, President of Mahattan-based Everlast, is equally excited about the new partnership.

"Built on 100 years of experience, no other brand in fight sports is as authentic or has a deeper understanding of a fighter's needs, wants and desires than Everlast," said Geisler. "Bellator is one of the most innovative and respected brands in the MMA industry and their tournament format reflects their own unique authenticity and understanding of the professional fighter. We are extremely excited and believe this partnership provides a tremendous opportunity to lift both brands to a new level."

According to a press release, Bellator recently changed the game in MMA by "eliminating the subjectivity of matchmaking," and instead establishing a tournament-based model, similar to what is used in other professional sports.

Season two of the show premieres April 8, and will feature eight-man tournaments over the course of twelve weeks amongst four weight classes (feather, light, welter, and middle.) Every Thursday, each event will be featured live in primetime on FOX Sports Net, then the most exciting highlights will be edited into a half-hour highlights show aired on NBC, and also a one-hour highlight show broadcast in Spanish on Telemundo, both occurring late night Saturday.

With the show on three channels, Bellator will now be available to 250-million homes.