Bellator MMA put on arguably their biggest show in promotion history this past weekend as UFC legends Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar main evented Bellator 131.
The event, which occurred at the same time as the UFC 180 pay-per-view, ended up pulling record numbers for Bellator as 1.8 million viewers tuned into Spike TV to watch Ortiz and Bonnar battle it out.
UFC President Dana White was recently asked on TSN’s On The Record to give his thoughts on Bellator’s success this past weekend, and it may not be the reaction you would expect:
That thing was a free fight on free TV. Yea, it’s going to pull some numbers. They’re both big-name guys. I’m happy for Tito and Bonnar. Those guys are getting paid, that’s really about it. To be honest with you, the ‘Tito thing’ is old, it’s over. I could care less anymore. When Tito and I were a lot younger we used to battle about a lot of things. I’m happy for the guy. He’s making money, he’s getting paid. Good for him.
Maybe Dana White is getting soft on us, or maybe he is genuinely happy for Tito and Bonnar. Either way one thing is for sure, there clearly is value in Bellator after all.
[h/t MMAFighting]
