Bellator MMA will make its long-awaited premiere on Spike TV on Thursday, January 17 at 10:00pm ET/PT with a star-studded fight card including two Bellator World Championship Title fights.

Emanating from The University of California’s Bren Center in Irvine, CA, featherweight world champion Pat Curran defends his title against explosive knockout artist Patricio Pitbull, while lightweight world champion Michael Chandler battles former Olympian Rick Hawn in their highly anticipated Bellator Championship showdown.

The action-packed night also features the Bellator debut of decorated MMA veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral, who will fight in the quarterfinals of the Light Heavyweight Tournament against Russian submission ace Mikhail Zayats.

“Our Thursday, January 17^th premiere on Spike will be an incredible night for MMA fans; two epic world title fights and an amazing collection of tournament fights” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Spike TV is the home for MMA and this event will be a great way to kick off that homecoming.”

Spike Premier Promo: http://bit.ly/SOvc1e

Bellator MMA, which features The Toughest Tournament in Sports, will showcase five tournaments this season in different weight classes including featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. The 12-week season, airing onThursdays at 10pm on Spike TV, will showcase many of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters from around the world in venues spanning across North America.

This Bellator MMA event on Spike TV is sponsored by Dave & Buster’s, Relativity Media’s “Movie 43,” and Everlast.  Tickets for the event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com and can be purchased at the Bren Center Box Office.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Stay close to The MMA Review (themmareview.co.uk) for all the latest Bellator news.

Jay Cee – @JayCeeMMA

Follow “The MMA Review” on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!!!

*This is an official Bellator press release. A press release is an announcement of an event, performance, or other newsworthy item that is issued to the press.