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BBC criticised for signing MMA deal after failing to put up a fight for cricket rights 

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7 hours ago

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BBC criticised for signing MMA deal after failing to put up a fight for cricket rights 

The BBC was on Thursday accused of putting cage-fighting before Test cricket after giving mixed martial arts a regular spot on iPlayer.

The licence-fee-funded national broadcaster on Thursday announced a deal with Bellator, one of the sport’s two main promotion companies, to show all of its 2021 events live.

The deal was confirmed a week after the BBC was nowhere to be seen when Channel 4 landed the rights to England’s Test series in India, something that has delivered bumper ratings on what has been the longest form of the game’s first terrestrial outing since the 2005 Ashes.

Steve Brine MP, a member of parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee, told Telegraph Sport: “This is pretty desperate stuff. We don’t know how much the BBC paid for these rights but I think it will sit pretty badly with Test cricket fans missing out their sport or hardworking local journalists losing their jobs at this time.”

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A BBC spokesperson responded: “The BBC caters for all licence fee payers and we are delighted to add MMA to our extensive live sport offering.”

The Bellator deal followed a successful trial last October, in which a cage-fighting event from Paris was aired on the iPlayer — the first time the sport had been shown on the BBC. 

Scott Coker, the president of Bellator MMA, said he was “thrilled to be confirming the BBC as our UK broadcast partner”.

“To have every event on the biggest network in the UK is a great opportunity,” said Coker. “We look forward to working with the BBC to bring our exciting roster of talent and our extensive events schedule to an ever-growing audience.”

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Ben Gallop, Head of Digital at BBC Sport added: “Following on from the success of the Paris show we are delighted to continue our partnership with Bellator.  We look forward to bringing live, free to air Bellator action to both existing and new fans of MMA on BBC iPlayer.”

The first Bellator event of 2021 is scheduled for Friday April 2 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, USA. The organisation has set up residence there since last year with a Covid testing bubble in place and no crowds in the arena.

The headline bout is a featherweight title fight between the champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire, of Brazil and the American Emmanuel Sanchez. Three further events will take place in April and May, including a light-heavyweight tournament featuring eight of the leading fighters, among them Bader, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Yoel Romero, the Russian champion Vadim Nemkov, and Phil Davis.

The tournament culminates in October this year, when European events are likely to have returned, Covid restrictions permitting.

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Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts league of male and female fighters founded 13 years ago, is owned by ViacomCBS, the US multinational media conglomerate, whose revenue was almost $28 billion in 2019.

Comment: Sport’s scruffy cousin has gone mainstream

By Gareth A Davies

The powerful commercial partnership between Bellator and the BBC is a clear marker of the global growth of a sport which is not yet three decades old.

No longer is MMA the scruffy cousin of the sporting landscape. It has become mainstream. All this just 15 years after the corporation’s sports editors had refused to cover the sport on the BBC website. Time, interest, and growing professionalisation have clearly changed attitudes. 

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David Green, the head of Bellator Europe, told Telegraph Sport that the BBC’s alignment with Bellator was “a clear statement of intent” and “a ground-making moment for Bellator and MMA as it continues exponential growth with broadcasters and fans”.

Green added: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring live Bellator MMA action to millions of UK homes on BBC iPlayer. To have every event from all over the world available for fans in the UK to watch live is something we have been working really hard to achieve, and to be able to call the BBC home for Bellator in the UK is really a fantastic moment for us and for the sport.”

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Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois pre-fight press conference

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20 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois pre-fight press conference


Check out these photos from the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois pre-fight press conference, which took place at Guild Hall in London, England. The event takes place Saturday at Wembley Stadium and streams on DAZN. (Photos by Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing)

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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UFC 246 Conor McGregor vs 'Cowboy' Cerrone: What time is the fight, how can I watch and what is our prediction?

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41 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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UFC 246 Conor McGregor vs 'Cowboy' Cerrone: What time is the fight, how can I watch and what is our prediction?

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Conor McGregor headlines UFC 246 as he makes his eagerly anticipated return to the octagon against American Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. 

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Boniface's amazing trick pass sets up Leverkusen goal

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57 mins ago

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September 20, 2024

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Boniface's amazing trick pass sets up Leverkusen goal



Victor Boniface produces a brilliant trick pass before Alejandro Grimaldo scores Bayer Leverkusen’s second goal against Feyenoord.



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UFC could sign these 5 fighters with XXXX wins

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1 hour ago

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September 20, 2024

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UFC could sign these 5 fighters with XXXX wins

Record: 11-2
Age: 30
Height: 5’8″
Weight: Lightweight
Birthplace: Canada
Next fight: Sept. 6 def. David Briones (4-6) via unanimous decision at BFL 81 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (UFC Fight Pass)

The skinny:  Jamie Siraj needed an outlet away from a “rough” home life. That’s when he joined Revolution Martial Arts. Former UFC fighter Kajan Johnson, who served as one of the head coaches. Siraj had his first fight at age 15 and was immediately hooked. After a 7-2 amateur career, Siraj turned pro in 2014. Since a 3-2 start, Siraj hasn’t lost. In 2019, Siraj was on the doorstep for a UFC call, aligned for Dana White’s Contender Series. However, Siraj fell ill and doctors didn’t know why. After a long, grueling period of his body failing, Siraj was diagnosed with hyper IGE Syndrome, an immunodeficiency disorder. It rendered him largely unable to function, septic, and near death. Through treatment, Siraj is now back to a largely normal life. In June 2023, for the first time in four years, Siraj fought and won for Battlefield Fight League. He was offered a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 32,” but was one of the final cuts from the roster – a move that surprised him, considering he flew all the way out to Las Vegas. In May, he finished then-8-1 Tariel Abbasov by submission. In September, he defeated David Briones by unanimous decision.

In his own words: “I think this fight was 10 days notice or something like that. I was actually joking, but it was kind of how I felt. I was like, ‘Well, I’m not doing anything else that weekend, so I might as well. I have been training.’ After my last fight, I was just a little mentally burnt out from not getting a call to the Contender Series. I was just like, ‘Man, am I ever going to get in the UFC? Holy f*ck this just feels like I have to physically kill someone in a ring for them want to sign me.’ … Then, I took the fight on short notice, just for the f*ck of it. Thank God it all worked out and paid off, but it wasn’t my favorite performance of my career.

“… There’s no 145 fights on the card. But I’ve been working slowly on getting back down to 135, so if that way there is a short-notice pullout, I can jump in at 135. Unfortunately, there’s no fights at my division. But yeah, if that’s my opportunity to jump in at 135, then that’s kind of where my mindset is at being able to jump in and make weight at 135. I know there are quite a few 135ers on the card. A lot of them are kind of entry level guys, guys you’d be getting on your first fight or two in the UFC. I kind of have my eye on everyone that’s at 135 from top to bottom. There’s a lot of good 135 matchups. Physically, when I was at 135, I just felt so much stronger and so much faster and bigger than everyone. So if I can make that division again and make weight, yeah I feel like I’d be such a problem at 135, too.”

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UFC fighter Conor McGregor announces retirement

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1 hour ago

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September 20, 2024

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UFC fighter Conor McGregor announces retirement

He busted the nose of Cerrone in the fight’s first skirmish before finishing him in a first-round TKO.

McGregor had not won  since November 2016 when he stopped Eddie Alvarez, the lightweight, to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two championship belts at the same time.

McGregor then fought his only boxing match with Floyd Mayweather in 2017 before losing a one-sided UFC bout to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

UFC President Dana White has already said McGregor is next in line for a title shot at the winner of lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s bout with Justin Gaethje this summer.

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The UFC’s schedule is in upheaval due to the coronavirus pandemic, but McGregor was expected to get his title shot later this year, and he recently had been talking to White about taking another fight even earlier. Earlier this week, McGregor posted photos and videos of himself training for fights.

White was still willing to take McGregor’s retirement announcement at face value – at least publicly – when he learned about it at his news conference following UFC 250 in Las Vegas.

“If Conor McGregor feels he wants to retire, you know my feelings about retirement,” White said.

“You should absolutely do it. And I love Conor.

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“There’s a handful of people that have made this really fun for me, and he’s one of them.”

Retirements are a time-honoured device for gathering attention and increased bargaining power in combat sports. From Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather to Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, countless champions of boxing and MMA have gone back on their solemn announcements whenever need or ego brought them back to the sport.

The 31-year-old retires with a 22-4 record.

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Invicta FC 57 weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs

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2 hours ago

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September 20, 2024

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Invicta FC 57 weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs


Check out these photos from the Invicta FC 57 weigh-ins and fighter faceoffs ahead of the event taking place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. (Photos by Dave Mandell, Invicta FC)

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