Bellator Season 9 to Air on Friday Nights Following One-Off Saturday Premiere Sept. 7

Spike TV President Kevin Kay this week announced the news to SI.com. The move will follow a Saturday premiere on Sept. 7, which will coincide with the live finale of Bellator’s new reality show, “Fight Master.” Season 9 will then regularly appear on Spike beginning Friday, Sept. 13, at 9 p.m. ET.

Bellator will air on Wednesday nights during the organization’s upcoming trio of Summer Series events, the first of which takes place June 19 at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., and showcases two former Strikeforce champions, as Muhammed Lawal and Renato Sobral square off with Seth Petruzelli and Jacob Noe, respectively, in the first round of Bellator’s four-man light heavyweight tournament.

Bellator debuted on Spike TV earlier this year, averaging nearly 800,000 viewers during its 11-event run on Thursday nights -- by far the greatest viewership the promotion has enjoyed since its inception in 2009. The Viacom-owned promotion previously aired on MTV2 on Friday nights, averaging 155,000 and 162,000 viewers in Seasons 6 and 7, respectively.