The best people to talk to about how fighters are treated are the fighters themselves.
Former UFC fighter Rory MacDonald left UFC for Bellator in 2016 and told BI that "the way Scott handles business and the attitude he has is much different than [UFC promoter] Dana White."
How? "Scott is respectful, gentler, and humble. He has a quiet approach. I have great communication with him and the company in general. Scott has done martial arts so maybe that comes into it. Martial arts gives you respect. Scott has that."
Business Insider asked MacDonald if there is a notable difference in UFC and Bellator pay. "Absolutely there is and Bellator pays considerably more."
At UFC, fighters have a mandatory Reebok uniform to wear. This limits their earning potential as they are unable to negotiate commercial contracts with companies like Under Armour, Nike, or Adidas. At Bellator, though, fighters are free to arrange their own sponsorship deals.
Daily Telegraph combat sports journalist Gareth Davies told BI: "Fighters always talk about how good it is to deal with Scott Coker. Fighters take a Bellator payment and can even keep their sponsors in the fighting arena. They can't get that at the UFC, where they have to be a part of the UFC's deal with Reebok."
Coker says competition is healthy for the business.
"I feel like I let fighters down in Strikeforce and I'll tell you why. When I left, prices for fighters dropped by 25 percent," he explains.
"When there's only one buyer [UFC] in the marketplace, prices go down. But now there are two main buyers [UFC and Bellator] and fighters are happy we are back."
So what next?
"Bellator is Strikeforce 2.0," Coker says. "We're going to make it bigger and better."
Coker then elaborated how. Here's the masterplan:
- Continue to expand internationally with more broadcast deals and more local fighters.
- Sign up more legends and free agents
- Develop its home-grown stars for the future
- Attract more blue-chip sponsors through Viacom's sales department
- Organise two/three pay-per-view shows a year
"If we keep doing what we're doing right, it will keep closing," Coker says. "Fighters are jumping ship and people notice that as fighters are popular. It's also good for the industry.
"There's no incentive for fighters to be paid what they deserve when there's only one show in town, but when you have another bidder it [UFC] has to stay sharper and on their toes, but so do we. Ultimately it's the fighters who win and the industry also stays healthy."
Former UFC fighter Royce Gracie, who is now Bellator ambassador, is more bullish. "The gap between Bellator and UFC is far shorter than what people think. Look at the way UFC fighters move to Bellator."
MacDonald adds: "There's a lot of positive things happening in Bellator while there are a lot of negatives in the way UFC shows are run and the way UFC fighters are treated."
Full Article --> Scott Coker explains why Bellator is ready to top UFC as the biggest company in cage fighting
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