The Doggy Bag: The Doubtful Edition

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In the first two weeks of its sixth season, Bellator has had two "Knockout of the Year" candidates courtesy of Pat Curran and Brian Rogers. Yet, it has gotten some of its lowest ratings to date. When is Bellator going to get on Spike and will it ever make a difference? It seems like no matter how good Bellator's product is, it can't make a date. -- Matt from Kansas City

TJ De Santis, Sherdog Radio Network program director: Matt, you hit the nail on the head asking when Bellator will make its transition to Spike TV. Per Spike’s deal with the UFC, Viacom is stuck placing its MMA product in between old episodes of “Martin” and “Wildboyz” for at least this season. Bellator is a great product that has been blessed with violent endings that seem to get more hits on Youtube than viewers on MTV2.

The only fear I have for the Chicago-based company: if and when it finally does get to move to Spike, will the network that brought us “The Ultimate Fighter” still be a destination for mixed martial arts fans? Since the UFC’s departure, I can’t honestly tell you if I have watched more than 15 minutes of Spike programming.

Viacom is still trying to push Spike as a leader in MMA content, but anyone who calls himself a hardcore fan knows that it has little to nothing to offer us. “MMA Uncensored” is a project that is falling mostly on deaf ears or absent eyes. Five or six years ago, the program would have been a hit to me and almost any of you reading this on its premise alone. However, today, with offerings from HDNet, ESPN, and UFC on Fuel TV, awkward live interviews and random MMA topics of the day really aren’t worth me -- or most MMA fans -- setting their DVR or staying up late to watch.

Bellator has done one great thing from its inception: the company has gone the opposite direction of the UFC in the social media sharing department. When Toby Imada sank one of the most amazing inverted triangle’s in MMA history, do you know where I watched it? YouTube. Guess who uploaded it to YouTube? Yep, Bellator. Now the promotion even streams its entire cards online, giving something extra to the hardcore fans, something we can all appreciate.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and company need to make sure that fans see Bellator fights and highlights anyway they can. Once they bring the product to Spike, things will start to look up. Until then, we just have to wait.

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