Mixed Martial Arts on ESPN Deportes.

ESPN Deportes and Bellator Fighting Championships jointly announced an agreement that will bring the sport of Mixed Martial Arts to ESPN Deportes for the first time.

Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN Deportes will have exclusive telecast rights to Bellator Fighting Championships events starting April 2009. Bellator Fighting Championships’ premiere season will consist of a 12-week championship series to be aired as two-hour episodes. On each telecast, ESPN Deportes will air compelling back-stories and feature pieces on each fighter.

“Mixed Martial Arts is becoming increasingly popular among Hispanics and we are thrilled to work with Bellator Fighting Championships to showcase these world-class athletes on a national platform,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes. “The structure of this championship will give fans a unique opportunity to follow their athletes as the tournament progresses.”

“At Bellator, unlike other MMA organizations, it is not the executives behind the desk but the fighters in the cage who control their destiny based solely on their performance,” said Bjorn Rebney, Bellator Founder & CEO. “Rather than relying on hype and matchmaking to determine who fights for the world title and earns the largest purse, our fighters actually fight their way to a Championship. Every Bellator event showcases great fights between world-class competitors with each tournament bout winner earning substantially larger purses and moving significantly closer to a championship fight.”

Bellator’s nationally televised events will be highly competitive sports programming in its purest form and will have no connection to reality television. Bellator Fighting Championships events are structured as tournament competitions that crown champions or top challengers at the end of each season. There will be four simultaneous tournaments taking place in season #1 over a three month period, one in each of the Featherweight (145 lb.), Lightweight (155 lb.), Welterweight (170 lb.) and Middleweight (185 lb.) divisions. Eight world-class fighters from around the globe will be represented in each division. To win the Bellator Championship, a fighter must win a total of three fights, each consisting of three five-minute rounds over a three month period. At the end of the initial three month, 12-event season, Bellator will have crowned four Bellator Champions and will have awarded each Champion $175,000. Opening round winners receive $25,000, semi-final round winners receive $50,000 and final winners receive $100,000. Bellator Fighting Championships events will be staged in the top U.S. markets, and will feature a strong roster of Hispanic fighters.