Everlast Renews Highly Successful Bellator Partnership

NEW YORK, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Everlast Worldwide, the world's leading manufacturer, marketer and licensor of fight sports equipment, apparel and footwear, announced today that it will continue its partnership with Bellator Fighting Championships, the nationally televised mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

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Everlast will continue to be the exclusive competition fight glove worn by all Bellator fighters in the cage, as well as the categorical sponsor for all gloves, cages and training equipment for the promotional company. The brands will also strategically align marketing and promotional opportunities through a variety of channels including retail, online and print advertising campaigns and social media activation.

"We couldn't have been happier with our partnership with Bellator and are excited to expand our brand reach through their live primetime platform on MTV2," said Matt Cowan, VP of Marketing and Product for Everlast. "Our brand strength and authenticity is driven through having our products worn by the greatest athletes in the world, and Bellator remains vital to this, and our market leadership in the Mixed Martial Arts space."

"Bellator's extremely happy to have Everlast in our corner for another year," said the company's founder and CEO, Bjorn Rebney. "This partnership allows us to provide every fighter that steps into the Bellator cage with the highest quality and most trusted equipment fight sports has to offer. Everlast's track record over the last one hundred years of providing the highest quality and most advanced fighting sports equipment to fighters is the perfect fit for the Bellator brand."

Bellator is nationally televised live at 9pm Saturdays on MTV2 and features a tournament style format that allows fighters to control their own destiny, eliminating the subjectivity of matchmaking. For more information on Everlast or Bellator Fighting Championships, please visit Everlast.com or Bellator.com.

About Everlast

The preeminent brand in boxing since 1910, Everlast is the world's leading manufacturer, marketer and licensor of boxing, MMA and fitness equipment. From heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and middle weight legend Sugar Ray Robinson to the undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor and UFC champion Randy Couture, Everlast is the brand of choice for generations of world champion professional athletes. Built on a brand heritage of strength, dedication, individuality and authenticity, Everlast is a necessary part of the lives of countless champions. Based in Manhattan, Everlast's products are sold across more that 75 countries and 6 continents. Everlast is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brands Holdings Limited, a global company and manager of worldwide sporting goods and apparel brands. For more information, visit www.everlast.com.

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Bellator's founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships' executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

SOURCE Everlast