Bellator Fighting Championships will make their debut on Spike TV with a bang early next year.

The promotion confirmed on their official website Tuesday that the Jan. 17 card will feature two title fights: lightweight champion Michael Chandler will put his belt on the line against Rick Hawn, while featherweight title holder Pat Curran will defend his gold against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.

“Our Thursday, January 17th premiere on Spike will be an incredible night for MMA fans; two epic world title fights and an amazing collection of tournament fights,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney on the website.

“Spike TV is the home for MMA and this event will be a great way to kick off that homecoming.”

The event kicks off season 8 of their tournament series, which will include new brackets for the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

The only way to get a title shot under the Bellator banner is to win an eight-man tournament in your respective weight class, although Rebney recently announced that title rematches could be booked in the case of a particularly close or thrilling contest.

Another big name on the card is UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral, making his promotional debut against submission specialist Mikhail Zayats.  Sobral boasts wins over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jeremy Horn, Travis Wiuff and Chael Sonnen.

Will this be the event that puts Bellator on the map as the UFC’s only true competition or are they still destined to float under the radar as long as Zuffa LLC is still around?