Jimmy Smith frustrated that fights like Koreshkov/Henderson get less attention than fights...

[Wild]

Bloody Elbow's Three Amigos Podcast recently sat down with Bellator lead commentator, Jimmy Smith, who discussed the frustrating phenomenon of fights like Kimbo v. Dada getting more attention than more legitimate fights.

Bellator MMA has flourished over the last couple years under the careful guidance of Scott Coker and his team. Their tentpole events, while oft times playing up the entertainment angles, have been pretty successful, setting the stage for the more important, more relevant fights. The problem is, getting fans to tune in to those important fights. When you have 2.5 million people tuning in to watch Royce Gracie kick Ken Shamrock in the pills, but you do less than half that for Henderson vs. Koreshkov, it can take on a much more bleak overtone.

The Three Amigos Podcast…


Jimmy Smith frustrated that fights like Koreshkov/Henderson get less attention than fights like Kimbo/Dada

 

[soundoff71]

I bet Coker's not a big fan either, & he just does them as a necessary evil. I don't remember any freak show shit in Strikeforce. Hopefully in the near future people, catch on to killers like Koreshkov & MVP, as well the slew of monster wrestlers Bellator just signed.

 

[Ted Williams' head]

Can't blame him. It is unfortunate. It's that classic "flash vs substance" conflict that happens in pretty much every avenue of entertainment and art.

If you want real quality, you have to venture outside the mainstream and the rings true in most cases.

But unfortunately fight sports are still "spectacle sports", you need the big draws to keep the sport alive. Money makes the world go round.

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

Well Bellator does a shit job of promoting the really good fighters they have. They did such a bad job that Cole Konrad retired when he was on top.

 

[Jehannum]

imagine popular culture being more popular than niche culture

just imagine

 

[Qat]

imagine popular culture being more popular than niche culture

just imagine

Unpossible.

 

[jason73]

Well Bellator does a shit job of promoting the really good fighters they have. They did such a bad job that Cole Konrad retired when he was on top.

I never knew he retired

 

[Haulport]

Well Bellator does a shit job of promoting the really good fighters they have. They did such a bad job that Cole Konrad retired when he was on top.

This is completely true. Bellator is HORRIBLE at promoting and compiling non-freakshow cards. I didn't want to see any other fight on that card so why tune in? They had 170lbs. Michael page fight a nobody while Cybor (PERFECT matchup for him) fought Brennan ward. And Pitbull fighting a guy who was 0-2 in Bellator. Terrible match making is a frequent thing for Bellator. I still like I am waiting for them to get off the ground since Coker took over...

 

[Wild]

Well Bellator does a shit job of promoting the really good fighters they have. They did such a bad job that Cole Konrad retired when he was on top.

They really need to promote MVP hard and be smart with his match-ups. He's one of the few guys they have on their roster right now with potential superstar potential.

 

[jason73]

i like watching the bellator fights but they do a crappy job of promoting them .if i didnt follow mma websites i wouldnt even know they were on.i never watch cable tv so i dont see commercials. they dont have a good media presence and the ufc does a good job of burying them on the ug .there isnt much buzz about the fights unless it is kimbo vs dada or royce vs ken type of fights .they need to pick it up a notch and promote their young talent.

 

[PeteyParker]

Well Coker said he's goal is to get ratings for Bellator, so I'm not surprised.

 

[Jehannum]

Well Coker said he's goal is to get ratings for Bellator, so I'm not surprised.....

.....motherfuckers!

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

They really need to promote MVP hard and be smart with his match-ups. He's one of the few guys they have on their roster right now with potential superstar potential.

They have legit studs at 155. And letting your 170 champ go because you have nothing for him is crap. Your new champ will always have a asterisk since Ben took the title with him, and he made your current champ look like a low level amatuer.

 

[Jesus X]

I bet Coker's not a big fan either, & he just does them as a necessary evil. I don't remember any freak show shit in Strikeforce. Hopefully in the near future people, catch on to killers like Koreshkov & MVP, as well the slew of monster wrestlers Bellator just signed.

bellator has been putting on bad shows compared to the ufc I blame spike tv, they air the events 3 hours late on the west coast and air episodes of cops before each fight card.

 

[canofsticks]

We, as fight fans, all share similar degrees of frustration at these kinds of situations.

But we always need to remember that those fights are marketed to a different crowed. And that other crowd is a lot bigger than us.

Kimbo/Dada was not for fight purists. It was for people who like watching worldstar videos and some good ol slobbernocknin. And that's ok. There's room in the sport for fun, completely unnecessary fights.

We all agree we want to see a certain level of professionalism in the sport but I'll accept a few goofy, crazy fun and unessesary fights if it means keeping these smaller promotions viable.

 

[Jehannum]

We, as fight fans, all share similar degrees of frustration at these kinds of situations.

But we always need to remember that those fights are marketed to a different crowed. And that other crowd is a lot bigger than us.

Kimbo/Dada was not for fight purists. It was for people who like watching worldstar videos and some good ol slobbernocknin. And that's ok. There's room in the sport for fun, completely unnecessary fights.

We all agree we want to see a certain level of professionalism in the sport but I'll accept a few goofy, crazy fun and unessesary fights if it means keeping these smaller promotions viable.

Kimbo sure, a lot of orgs have used him, the UFC included, but DaDa 5000? and using Ken was bad, Gracie was terrible, but DaDa 5000 was beyond a joke and not even just in hindsight.

 

[Wild]

bellator has been putting on bad shows compared to the ufc I blame spike tv, they air the events 3 hours late on the west coast and air episodes of cops before each fight card.

What's wrong with Cops?

 

[canofsticks]

Kimbo sure, a lot of orgs have used him, the UFC included, but DaDa 5000? and using Ken was bad, Gracie was terrible, but DaDa 5000 was beyond a joke and not even just in hindsight.

A lot of people knew about Dada from Billy Corben's Dawg Fight before hand. I certainly did. Sure not as popular as Kimbo, but they have the same fan base - guys who like street brawlers.

Coker knew exactly what he was doing matching them up and it was perfect (well perfect in its intended effect).

 

[Clappin'Daddys]

What can we do? It's very simple in business; they serve what we eat.

The problem is that hardcores who complain are such a small population. Not only that, most hardcores complain for the fuck of it. They say they want up and comers and legit fights on cards instead of freakshows but when the legit cards come out, they do like 600k avg. then bellator gets bashed for their ratings.

Coker and bellator come out with freakshows that peak at almost 3 mil, and they get bashed for the freakshow.

In cases like these Coker is bashed either way. If I were Coker, is pick the freakshow route.

If I'm going to get bashed, might as well get paid for it right?

 

[Qat]

Coker knew exactly what he was doing matching them up and it was perfect (well perfect in its intended effect).

I personally found the whole "we have a past and still beef coz x,y, and we hate each other, and that's why this will be a good fight"-stuff really contrived and bad executed. Had zero interest in it. Apparently I was pretty alone with that though.

 

[canofsticks]

I personally found the whole "we have a past and still beef coz x,y, and we hate each other, and that's why this will be a good fight"-stuff really contrived and bad executed. Had zero interest in it. Apparently I was pretty alone with that though.

Oh for sure that stuff was annoying, and I don't think you were alone on it. We've been dealing with this "we have bad blood between us" shtick since, hell, I dunno, before the first TUF. And at this point it's over done and mostly unessesary.
But I think the fan base who likes Kimbo aren't watching a ton of MMA anyway, so for them, that beef stuff can be entertaining.

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

I don't like the freakshow fights. Never have. Didn't like them in Pride, didn't like the James Toney bs, don't like them in Bellator.

They could have a valuable role if used properly though. The problem is that as opposed to putting someone like MVP or one of the Pitbulls or even Koreshkov on the same card as Kimbo/Dada so that a casual fan may see some sweet violence they're stacking it with televised bullshit. Royce/Ken and Kimbo/Dada killed any shine that Derek Campos or Emmanuel Sanchez could have gotten from their fights. Too much freakshow just clouds the entire night. They need to be treated like the dessert not the whole damned 5 course meal.

Also.. I know that they haven't announced many fights but fuck me running... Bellator 157 is so weird. Rampage vs. Ishii? What is that shit? Rampage will draw some eyes but Ishii adds absolutely nothing. Meathead's debut vs Carl Seumananananntatafa... Really? And now after cutting Brooks they have a chance to do something really cool with the championship and they're just going to gift it to Chandler and Pitbull? That's just lazy. Especially considering that this is supposed to be one of their big "tentpole" events. I just don't get it.

I want Coker to get this shit rolling and be a viable options for fighters but shit... This is more frustrating for me than when Bjorn was running things. At least when it was him I knew he was a shady fuck and full of shit. I didn't have any expectations.