Bellator 206 Australia

© Esther Lin, MMA Fighting Michael “Venom” Page

1. Bellator 206 Australian Open
2. Bellator 206

Bellator is back on Showtime, but that’s not the only big broadcasting news the promotion had this week.

On Thursday, Bellator announced a partnership with the United Kingdom’s British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to air all of its upcoming 2021 events on the broadcaster’s BBC iPlayer streaming service.

Bellator joins forces with @BBCSport

Buy tickets, browse fighter stats, get fight results, stream live events, and watch full fight videos and highlights. Event: Bellator 206 Date: Saturday, 29 September 2018 Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, California, United States Results (Main Card): Gegard Mousasi def. Rory MacDonald via TKO, R2; Quinton Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva via TKO, R2, 4:32; Douglas Lima def. On Friday, all 34 fighters taking part in Saturday Night’s Bellator 206 will take the scales for the official weigh-in in San Jose, California, including Middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and Welterweight champion Rory MacDonald, who are looking to hit the 185 pound middleweight limit. Check out Bellator 206 weigh-in results below.

UK fans will be able to stream EVERY Bellator MMA event live on @BBCiPlayer in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣! pic.twitter.com/3nntEaXPzH

— Bellator Europe (@Bellator_Europe) February 11, 2021

The deal includes all U.S. and European events, beginning with Bellator 255 on April 2 headlined by a rematch between featherweight champion Patricio Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez. Earlier this week, it was announced that Showtime will be the new home of Bellator in the U.S.

BBC’s iPlayer is a free streaming service that requires a BBC account. It is not available outside of the U.K.

This partnership marks the continuation of Bellator’s relationship with the BBC. In October, Bellator aired its first event on the network with Bellator Paris, which featured France’s Cheick Kongo fighting Timothy Johnson in the main event, as well as U.K. star Michael “Venom” Page. Bellator Paris was also the first major MMA event to take place in France since the country legalized the sport in 2020.

Previously, Bellator signed a one-year deal with Sky Sports to air events live in the U.K. and Ireland. That move—and now this new partnership with the BBC—ensured that the promotion would avoid any future Peppa Pig incidents.

In September 2018, viewers watching Bellator on the U.K.’s Channel 5 saw their broadcast changed to the Peppa Pig cartoon before the beginning of the Bellator 206 middleweight championship main event between Gegard Mousasi and Rory MacDonald. The event took place in San Jose, Calif., which meant the headliner aired around 6 a.m. in the U.K., resulting in a switch to cartoons due to early morning broadcast restrictions regarding content suitable for young viewers.

Bellator 206 takes place today, and you can join us for a live video stream and official results beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT).

The event takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. In the main event, middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi (44-6-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and welterweight champ Rory MacDonald (20-4 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), who fight in the main event for Mousasi’s title. In addition, Quinton Jackson (37-13 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) tries to get to even with rival Wanderlei Silva (35-13-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at 2-2 when they fight for the fourth time. Plus, former champs Andrey Koreshkov (20-2 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) and Douglas Lima (29-7 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) meet in the welterweight tournament’s opening round.

Viewers in the U.S. can watch the preliminary card above at 8 p.m. ET before the main card shifts to DAZN at 10 p.m. ET.

Bellator 206 Australian Open

Official Bellator 206 results include:

MAIN CARD (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

Gegard Mousasi def. Rory MacDonald via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:23Quinton Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:32Douglas Lima def. Andrey Koreshkov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 5, 3:04Aaron Pico def. Leandro Higo via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:19Keri Melendez def. Dakota Zimmerman via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)Gaston Bolanos def. Ysidro Gutierrez via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:37

Bellator 206

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 8 p.m. ET)

Ahmed Abdelaziz vs. Laird AndersonIgnacio Ortiz vs. Jacob YcaroIsaiah Batin-Gonzalez vs. Khai WuAdam Piccolotti def. James Terry via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)Cass Bell def. Ty Costa via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 3:06Arlene Blencowe def. Amber Leibrock via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:23Jeremiah Labiano def. Justin Smitley via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:28Josh San Diego def. Joe Neal via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Unaired, 7:30 p.m. ET)

Chuck Campbell def. Joseph Ramirez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)Anthony Figueroa def. Samuel Romero via unanimous decision (29-27, 28-26, 29-26)

For more on Bellator 206, check out the MMA Events section of the site.