MMA, or mixed martial arts, is among the fastest-growing sports in the world. It’s a full-contact practice that mixes everything from boxing and karate to wrestling and judo. Fighters are pitted against one another in a cage and, like traditional boxing, there are weight classes, rounds and rules that govern the sport.
With their expertise in a variety of martial arts, striking and grappling, MMA fighters are viewed as among the best-conditioned and skilled athletes in the sports world and they’re making wheelbarrows of money for the promotional companies for which they fight.
The biggest player in the MMA business is the UFC, but there are many other organizations that are also at the forefront of the business.
Hollywood-based Bellator MMA was founded in 2008 and has grown into one of the world’s largest MMA promotions companies. Bellator, which is the Latin word for “warrior,” is owned by Viacom, and its events air in more than 140 countries. In 2013, Bellator debuted on Spike and now reaches more than 100 million homes on a weekly basis.
On Oct. 20 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Bellator will pit newly signed fighter Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2) against Alexander Shlemenko (56-9). But before that, there
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