On Wednesday SPIKE TV announced that Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney and COO Tim Danaher are no longer with the company.
Rebney, who created Bellator and served as not only the CEO, but President and Chairman issued the following statement.
“It is with bittersweet emotions that I announce that I am leaving the company I founded. I have great pride in having turned my vision into reality, a thriving business with television distribution to over 140 countries around the world, a partnership with one of the world’s largest entertainment giants and wide array of sponsors, partners and strategic allies all over the globe. This has been a wonderful eight plus years of creation, development and success. I will miss the courageous, strong and dedicated fighters I have had the pleasure of promoting, and equally, I will miss the incredibly hard working, remarkable team that has become a family for me over the years. Viacom and Tim and I differed in our views of the right strategic direction for Bellator, but Tim and I both wish them well.”
SPIKE TV’s Kevin Kay also had the following to say about both Rebney and Danaher.
“I would like to thank Bjorn and Tim on behalf of Spike and Viacom for their dedication and hard work building Bellator from the ground up. They worked tirelessly in getting Bellator to where it is today. They were great partners to work with and we wish them all the best.”
No word on who will officially be replacing Rebney as the face of Bellator, but there have been a number of rumors swirling that former Strikeforce President Scott Coker could take the lead.
