What made you sign a reality TV star in Aaron Chalmers to the massive Bellator 200 event at Wembley in May?

“I knew he had a mixed martial arts background and I like doing things outside the box. He was a fighter that had general crossover. He’s a star of a Viacom show, Geordie Shore, on a Viacom network, it just made a lot of sense to keep it in the family. That’s the reason we signed him.”

Is there prospect of two or more UK and Ireland events after Bellator 200?

“Yeah, I think so. The commitment to the UK is still extremely strong. We’re healthy and robust in the UK market. I think you’ll see a lot of fights this year. How many? Maybe a couple. But they’ll be a lot of fights next year as well.”

How important is it to build the TV fanbase in the UK?

“The London fight is on a Friday and traditionally we air in the UK on a Saturday. Dublin’s on a Friday, we air on Saturday. Belfast the same. Things are loosening up a little where we can start to make more events that are going to be live. Especially the ones that we do here, they should be live. Sport is made to be live. You can’t watch something three hours later already knowing the results, it’s not the same experience. But we have to respect our overseas partners as well.