Bjorn Rebney
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Bjorn Rebney is an American businessman who served as
chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
and
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...
from 2008 until June 2014.


Background

Rebney attended
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
on a football scholarship and then attended law school. Rebney did legal work in construction-defect then moved to the sports-law firm Steinberg Moorad & Dunn. In 2001, Rebney formed a partnership with
Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...
. The company was Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing Inc. The two had a falling out and the business dissolved.


Bellator MMA

Rebney's passion for
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
made him decide to start an MMA promotion. In his search for investors to fund his idea of a promotion, Rebney had sixty-one investor meetings within 16 months. To fund these trips to meet with investors and fighters, Rebney spent his savings and took out a second and third
mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
on his home. In Rebney's 62nd meeting with investors, he met executives at Plainfield Asset Management, who were familiar with the sport from prior meetings with management of EliteXC and the International Fight League who looked for capital to stay in business. Among the investors were Tim Danaher, who was the company's vice president at the time. After a follow-up meeting in New York, Plainfield agreed to provide the capital, which led to the creation of Bellator Fighting Championships. In October 2011, television and media conglomerate Viacom (now
Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
) purchased majority ownership of Bellator. Despite the company no longer being under Rebney's ownership, he remained Bellator
Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
and CEO until June 18, 2014, when Rebney's immediate exit from the company was announced by Viacom. In addition to Rebney, Tim Danaher left his position as
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
and COO. Rebney was replaced by former
Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...
president and CEO Scott Coker. Viacom executive, Kevin Kay, later explained that the reason for Rebney's separation from the company was that Rebney was committed to keeping Bellator a tournament-based promotion, while Kay felt a seasonal tournament format would have limited the growth of the organization.


MMAAA

In November 2016, it was announced that Rebney was chosen as an advisor to the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA). Among the members of the former organization were Georges St. Pierre, Cain Velasquez, T.J. Dillashaw, Tim Kennedy, and Donald Cerrone.


Personal life

Rebney's father was Jack Rebney, an unintended
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star and later subject of the 2009 documentary '' Winnebago Man''. Jack Rebney passed away in May 2023 at the age of 93. Rebney is married to Huma Gruaz, an advertising and public relations executive. The couple has two children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebney, Bjorn Mixed martial arts executives Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ohio University alumni