Fans are coming back to Bellator MMA events.
The promotion announced Wednesday that fans will be allowed to
attend Bellator 260 on June 11 and Bellator 261 on June 25. Both
events take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. “A
limited number of tickets” will be available for both cards on
Friday, according to a release.
The organization’s last event in front of an audience was Bellator
240, which took place on Feb. 22, 2020 at 3Arena in Dublin,
Ireland. After Friday’s Bellator 259, the California-based
promotion will have held 16 events without spectators in attendance
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bellator 260 is headlined by a welterweight championship clash
between Douglas
Lima and Yaroslav
Amosov, while an interim heavyweight title tilt pitting
Timothy
Johnson against Valentin
Moldavsky will top the Bellator 261 bill. Both cards will be
televised on Showtime.
In conjunction with the return of fans, Bellator announced a
partnership with sports entertainment marketing firm Elevate Sports
Ventures to “support sponsorship, premium and ticket sales
strategies for the internationally renowned mixed martial arts
brand.”
“We are very excited to be getting into business with Elevate,”
Bellator MMA president Scott Coker said. “They bring a tremendous
amount of knowledge and experience to the table with a proven track
record of providing consistent results for top professional sports
franchises, leagues and events. It feels like our family just got
bigger, and I am confident that this new relationship will lead to
the continued growth of the Bellator brand.”