Jun 14, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Dillon Danis (red gloves) fights Max Humphrey (blue gloves) during Bellator 222 at Madison Square Garden. Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Max gets into MMA business, acquires Bellator streaming rights

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 3/19/24

The future of Bellator was a bit murky after it was recently acquired by the PFL. Many were wondering if the No. 2 combat sports promoter would absorb the fighters on Bellator’s roster or keep them within their own separate brand.

That question was cleared up on Tuesday as it was announced that Max, formerly HBO Max and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is the new streaming home for the Bellator Champions Series events in 2024.

! @SportsonMax is the @BellatorMMA in the US!

It all kicks off this Friday March 22nd at #BellatorBelfast, exclusively on MAX pic.twitter.com/usaHYwaZce
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) March 19, 2024

Per the partnership, Max will stream eight live Bellator events this year in addition to hosting the company’s full fight library and two planned docuseries.

Max is the fourth-biggest streaming service in the U.S. (95 million subscribers) behind only Netflix (247 million), Prime Video (200 million) and Disney+ (150 million).

The 2024 Bellator streaming schedule is below:

March 22 — Belfast, Ireland (SSE Arena)
May 17 — Paris, France (Accor Arena)
June 22 — Dublin, Ireland (3Arena)
Sept. 7 — San Diego, California (Pechanga Arena)
Sept. 14 — London, England (OVO Arena Wembley)
Oct. 12 — Chicago, Illinois (Wintrust Arena)
Nov. 16 — Paris, France (Adidas Arena)
Dec. 31 — Time and venue TBD

The March 22 card features two title fights. The first is between No. 1-ranked Corey Anderson (17-6-1) and No. 4-ranked Karl Moore (12-2) for the vacant light heavyweight title. The co-main event of the card pits featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull (35-7) against No. 3-ranked Jeremy Kennedy (19-3-1).

On the May 17 card, two belts will also be defended. Lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0-1) faces No. 1 contender Alexandr Shabliy (24-3) in the main event while bantamweight champion Patchy Mix (19-1) faces No. 3-ranked Magomed Magomedov (20-3) in the co-main event.

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