Bellator Formally Announces European Promotion Expansion

(Via: Bellator)

On Monday, Bellator formally announced their European expansion plans by officially signing 24 UK and Ireland based fighters. This announcement comes on the heels of Bellator’s streaming partnership with London based DAZN, which includes seven “stacked” DAZN cards per year in addition to 15 Paramount Network-DAZN events per year.

Among those to ink exclusive, multi-fight deals with the promotion are: BAMMA lightweight and welterweight champ (10-1) Terry Brazier, UFC vet (24-6-1, 1 NC) Norman Parke, recent Bellator competitor (18-8) Ion Pascu, and TUF season 27 competitor (3-1-1) Richie Smullen).

Bellator’s Aaron Chalmers, Geordie Shore alum (Via: The Sun)

Bellator is continuing to build on their success following Bellator 200, held at Wembley in May. Showcased by multiple European stars including: Kate Jackson, Michael “Venom” Page, Aaron Chalmers, and Gegard Mousasi, the event was well received. Increased star power, the likes of Chris Pratt, 50 Cent and legend Royce Gracie was proof that Bellator meant business on a weekend that also featured UFC Fight Night Liverpool the following night.

Straight Blast Gym (SBG) has been well represented in the promotion’s announcement, as: Smullen, Pascu, Kiefer Crosby, and Antonela Orlic among others all train at the famed Irish institute. They join budding star James Gallagher, who, with a win at Bellator 204 could fight for either bantamweight or featherweight strap later on this year.

The European MMA market has seen trends developing of late, with Ireland’s BAMMA, Poland’s KSW, England’s Cage Warriors, and Bahrain’s Brave CF seeing major growth over the past few years. ACB has been forced to cancel multiple events “organizational and financial problems”, Fight Nights Global was recently forced to delay their Brazilian debut, and M-1 Global announced a partnership with the UFC to promote Russian athletes and events. Bellator has made a splash with these signings, committing to growth in the ever expanding European MMA market.