MMA: B/R Exclusive Interview with Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator

Bellator XIII was a big hit with the crowd in Hollywood, FL. Fights were finished, submissions were landed, and there was one devastating knockout by way of knee to the chin. The winners moved up the ladder and will plan to fight again in a few weeks.

The event was a success, and after the tournament, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview the man that made Bellator a fast growing competitor in the world of MMA: Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships.

B/R : Hi Bjorn, thanks for taking the time to interview. With Roger Huerta being added to this season, do you have your eye on any other big prospects for the future Bellator seasons?

Rebney : Not right now. 20 hours a day is going toward this season. You know…the guys are still recruiting talent for next season, but 20 hours a day is going into this season.

B/R : After tonight's tournament, do you feel like Bellator Season 2 will offer better fights than the first season?

Rebney : Yeah. I think if you look at the weight classes at [145], 55, 70, 85, especially 45 and 70, those are just …an awful lot of tough fighters in both of those divisions.

I mean last year was good, but…I think going into it a lot of people anticipated Eddie's going to win 55, Hector's going to win 85, I think Joe Soto was a bit of a shock. And people were going to pick Wilson…

A lot of people were talking to us saying, "Chad Hinton…?" I told them I know Chad Hinton's manager well, Chad's a beast. I mean, I know anything can happen in these next few weeks, that's what makes it fun.

B/R : Over the next few years, what is your long term goal as far as how big Bellator is going to grow with viewers?

Rebney : Selfishly, I hope it becomes huge. I hope the ratings are enormous and we start packing arenas all over the country. My hope is that what is going to happen is that when people see the televised show, they'll recognize the qualitative level of what's out there and how it's put together and it'll start feeding on itself…you know, sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I love the sport, so it's a lot of hard work, but I get paid to do what I love to do, and who gets to do that? It's exciting. I hope it becomes really, really huge. I hope the tournaments become a prolific point of difference. I'd like it to be as big as big can big. [Laughs] Come big or stay home.

B/R : As far as the fights went tonight, do you have one fighter you think performed the best, win or lose?

Rebney : Georgi Karakhanyan surprised me. Bao Quach is very, very tough…and Bao Quach can strike. I didn't necessarily know what would happen that fight would have gone to the ground, but if someone had said to me Georgi Karakhanyan would dominate Bao Quach standing, I would have said, "I don't know…."

Georgi came and put on a very, very impressive dominant, tactical show, and never stopped, constantly moving forward, and there was everything in the arsenal, knees, hands, feet…Georgi Karakhanyan might not have been one of the guys because you've got guys like Joe Warren, Patricio Pitbull, Wilson Reis is coming back, but I don't know if anyone was saying Georgi Karakhanyan would be the guy [to beat]…

If I'm at 45 and looking to the next step of this tournament, I am not necessarily wanting to fight Georgi Karakhanyan after seeing that, because he did not do what he just did to a low-level dude. Bao can really fight, and eleven of his last twelve fights have been wins.

B/R : It was really surprising to see Georgi having gone from Soccer player to Jiu Jitsu practitioner to now knocking out a known striker with knees in a Muy Thai clinch.

Rebney : It was very impressive and shocking…and I'm assuming that if other guys are doing what I think they are doing and watching these shows religiously then a lot of guys are going, "Oh crap!" because Georgi Karakhanyan has not been fighting as a professional that long. He didn't grow up in the cage consistently. He didn't just come out of the Olympics in Judo. But that was an impressive performance.

Roger [Huerta] looked good. The thing I liked about Roger is that you got to see all of it. On the ground he looked good and in control. His breathing was calm, his breathing was great, nothing was out of whack. His striking was good, the distances were proper. And I was like, "Wow, this isn't the best Roger we've seen," and this surely isn't the best Roger we will eventually see, but I felt he put on a good performance, he was very solid.

Everything was there, and that was good to see. Carey [Vanier] put on a great performance. He was very solid. I think the whole thing was good. And I think Eric Marriott was a lot tougher than Joe Warren or anyone else thought he'd be. Eric Marriott can fight. He doesn't go down and he doesn't quit. It'll be interesting to see what the numbers and the ratings are, but as a fan I liked watching it. I had a good time.

B/R : Thank you very much for your time, Bjorn.

Rebney : Thank you.