It had long been expected that Spike TV would look to Bellator if it did not renew its television deal with the UFC, and the first signs of that relationship moving forward have emerged.
It was announced this week that Spike.com will begin broadcasting the promotion’s preliminary bouts, the first of which are tied to Saturday’s Bellator card. The main card airs on Spike TV sister-network MTV2.
Since Spike.com is planning to air the Bellator prelims on a regular basis, it would appear that the online broadcast will occasionally go head-to-head with Spike TV’s live airing of the UFC pay-per-view preliminary fights. Spike TV retains UFC broadcast rights through the end of the year, at which point the promotion moves entirely to the FOX family.