It was reported on early Thursday morning that a change was coming to the leadership of Bellator MMA and the change was announced this morning as Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney and President Tim Danaher have left their positions with the company.
The change was officially announced in a press release by Viacom and the move is effective immediately.
In the press release, Rebney issued a statement where he started off by saying it’s bittersweet to leave the company he started.
“It is with bittersweet emotions that I announce that I am leaving the company I founded,” said Bjorn Rebney. “I have great pride in having turned my vision into reality, a thriving business with television distribution to over 140 countries around the world, a partnership with one of the world’s largest entertainment giants and wide array of sponsors, partners and strategic allies all over the globe.”
“This has been a wonderful eight plus years of creation, development and success. I will miss the courageous, strong and dedicated fighters I have had the pleasure of promoting, and equally, I will miss the incredibly hard working, remarkable team that has become a family for me over the years. Viacom and Tim and I differed in our views of the right strategic direction for Bellator, but Tim and I both wish them well.”
Danaher had been the President of the company and was the key figure in getting a settlement agreement with current lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. Just like Rebney, he issued a statement on his departure from the company.
“I feel very privileged and honored to have been one of the guiding forces for developing Bellator into the largest MMA tournament based organization in the World,” said Danaher. “I’ve made tremendous life-long friends and feel blessed to have worked with such talented and dedicated people.”
In the press release, it stated that the replacements for Rebney and Danaher have not been named at this time and Spike TV President Kevin Kay thanked them for helping build the Bellator brand.
“I would like to thank Bjorn and Tim on behalf of Spike and Viacom for their dedication and hard work building Bellator from the ground up,” Kay said. “They worked tirelessly in getting Bellator to where it is today. They were great partners to work with and we wish them all the best.”
Stay tuned to TheMMAReport.com for updates on this developing story.