Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney responds to criticism over Zoila-Gate

The upcoming Bellator 78 fight card, which goes down this Friday night (Oct. 26, 2012) from Wright State's Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, features the promotion's 115-pound women's champion, Zoila Gurgel, as she takes on Casey Noland.

But you won't get to see her on MTV2.

That's because "The Warrior Princess," who hasn't seen the inside of a cage for over a year thanks to a devastating knee injury (ACL), has been relegated to the un-televised portion of this weekend's mixed martial arts (MMA) extravaganza.

And that makes Miesha Tate mad.

After taking a licking, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney keeps on ticking, offering a simple explanation to MMA Fighting about his decision-making process. It was consideration -- not conspiracy -- that prompted him to keep Gurgel out of the limelight for her return fight:

"Zoila's been plagued by injury after injury over the last 19 months, having not fought since March, 2011. We felt that the best road back for her did not include rushing her into a major fight against one of the top-ranked women in the world. This is not a world title fight as it's made significantly north of the 115 weight limit where she holds our title. Depending on how Zoila feels and performs on Friday, we can then determine the next appropriate step back."

That's a relief.

For a hot minute, some fight fans were worried it was retribution for this rant Gurgel had when Bellator "dissed her" back in May, but it looks like it was all just a big misunderstanding. With that in mind, let's all just move along, nothing to see here.

And nothing to see on Friday night, either.