AEW owners Shad and Tony Khan looking to buy Bellator MMA : REPORT

It seems AEW owners Tony Khan and Shad Khan are interested in adding Bellator MMA to their portfolio, which includes the Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC.

Bellator MMA is widely known as the second biggest MMA promotion in the world, behind the UFC. It is currently owned by Paramount Global, a conglomerate formed through a merger between Viacom and CBS in 2019, which airs the promotion on its Showtime channel.

It was revealed earlier this year that Paramount Global is actively looking to sell the MMA promotion, which suffered a drop in viewership numbers since moving from SpikeTV/Paramount to CBS Sports and then to Showtime.

In a recent episode of The MMA Hour, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani laid out the names of potential buyers and made some intriguing revelations. Confirming that the PFL has been interested in buying Bellator MMA, Helwani stated:

"PFL was one of those players that looked into them [Bellator MMA]... I can also tell you that the Khan family has looked into them. To what degree is unclear... I'm talking about Shad Khan and Tony Khan... That would be wild, imagine they own Bellator and AEW while Endeavor owns WWE and UFC."

Helwani further reported that while frontrunners PFL briefly pulled out of the deal, they are back as bidders to buy Bellator MMA. It remains to be seen who buys the world's second-biggest MMA promotion.

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Tony Khan buying Bellator: Scott Coker confirms plans for Bellator MMA sale

Bellator MMA president Scott Coker recently confirmed that the organization is up for sale. Given how speculations about the deal have been rife since the beginning of this year, Coker acknowledged that they are also in talks with several potential buyers, including the PFL.

Speaking to the media after the Bellator 297 ceremonial face-off, Scott Coker stated:

"We've been out there and Bellator has been looking to take a partner. That's really Viacom that's been handling that so we'll see where that nets out. We'll probably have some clarity in the next 60 to 90 days."

The Bellator MMA president also confirmed that the promotion was holding discussions with multiple potential buyers, saying:

"There's a couple conversations going on right now with Viacom and a couple companies and the PFL is definitely one of them."

Scott Coker also avoided speculations regarding whether or not the two MMA promotions will operate as one, considering the profound impact that would have on the current MMA landscape.