Scott Coker explains why Bellator is ready to top UFC

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Wild

Zi Nazi
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Dec 31, 2014
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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
So can Bellator close the gap on UFC?

"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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Onetrickpony

Stay gold
Nov 21, 2016
14,042
32,308
  • Organise two/three pay-per-view shows a year
That sounds great. Big spectacle shows that people will buy. I'm burned out by the UFC two shows a week schedule.
 

Filthy

Iowa Wrestling Champion
Jun 28, 2016
27,507
29,834
Glad to hear it even though I can't really watch bellator
The more I watch it, the more of it I'm compelled to watch.

It's good fights and good programming. And I genuinely feel better for the fighters I'm watching. Whenever I watch UFC, there's this underlying element that I'm watching modern-day Mandingo Fighting.
 

Robbie Hart

All Biden Voters Are Mindless Sheep
Feb 13, 2015
49,703
50,709
The more I watch it, the more of it I'm compelled to watch.

It's good fights and good programming. And I genuinely feel better for the fighters I'm watching. Whenever I watch UFC, there's this underlying element that I'm watching modern-day Mandingo Fighting.
I have no real way to watch it over here in the uk (can't record it from any channel and will not watch replays online when I know the results (except highlights)) and I have no real feel for who's who and what's what without putting in hours of research.
 

Zeph

TMMAC Addict
Jan 22, 2015
24,355
32,125
Calm it, kermit. The UFC have 85% of top 10 fighters in every division.
 

Haulport

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
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Calm it, kermit. The UFC have 85% of top 10 fighters in every division.
This is what everyone one ALWAYS says until:
  • All the WEC fighters come in and win all the belts and wreck shop
  • All the Strikeforce fighters come in and wreck shop
 

KWingJitsu

ยาเม็ดสีแดงหรือสีฟ้ายา?
Nov 15, 2015
10,311
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Excellent article.
I don't think it's Strikeforce 2.0 YET...but it is really close to it.
I couldn't watch an entire Bellator event in the past..... now I do.
 

La Paix

Fuck this place
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
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LOL! Much better. I wasnt digging on TMMAC, FYI, I realize it was the header of the source article.
Oh I know lol. It is fun to add pictures to give a certain feel to the story. The flying kick seems to capture the writers vision.
 

dacofty

Yea..Ok..Whatever
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
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Calm it, kermit. The UFC have 85% of top 10 fighters in every division.
for now, easy to say when the UFC threatens the media... im shocked it isnt reported as 100% in the divisions... atleast within the last 2 years it was 100% so Bellator has cut it by 15%... not to long to hit 50%
 

dacofty

Yea..Ok..Whatever
First 100
Jan 15, 2015
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This is what everyone one ALWAYS says until:
  • All the WEC fighters come in and win all the belts and wreck shop
  • All the Strikeforce fighters come in and wreck shop
thats the only way to have it is to buy the fighters
 

TalkingLeaf

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2015
443
959
Strikeforce had the advantage of scooping up lots of pride fighters. Made their success easier. It will be a harder road for Coker at bellator.

Sometimes having legends fight hurts your brand, rather than helping it. The fight is usually a letdown compared to the hype.

Getting fighters like Rory and mousasi are great for the brand, though, and the more of these types of fighters they get the easier it will be to get fighters like them.

I think he should save the money getting "legends" and use that money to attract poach more fighters from the UFC that are closer to their prime.
 

Jesus X

4 drink minimum.
Sep 7, 2015
28,766
31,291
the need better production values to top UFC and to actually air their cards live on spike for the west coast, what they are doing right now is actually losing them fans in half the u.s. I think strikeforce had a better chance to top the ufc than bellator does.
 

BJJMMA

John Wayne Man in Johnny Depp World
Jun 7, 2016
1,586
2,565
I've been saying for a long time that Bellator could close the gap. That didn't seem possible years ago. Then came the Reebok deal. This deal suddenly made Bellator a real player. It won't hurt my feelings a bit if the pendulum swings toward Bellator.
 

KWingJitsu

ยาเม็ดสีแดงหรือสีฟ้ายา?
Nov 15, 2015
10,311
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Strikeforce had the advantage of scooping up lots of pride fighters. Made their success easier. It will be a harder road for Coker at bellator.

Sometimes having legends fight hurts your brand, rather than helping it. The fight is usually a letdown compared to the hype.

Getting fighters like Rory and mousasi are great for the brand, though, and the more of these types of fighters they get the easier it will be to get fighters like them.

I think he should save the money getting "legends" and use that money to attract poach more fighters from the UFC that are closer to their prime.
The "Legends/Freakshow" fights are necessary to get eyeball$ and rating$ up.
The Shamrock/Gracie/Kimbo/Tito type cards do phenomenal ratings, and that's where they earn their money that they can spend to get the legit contenders.
Once they fully morph into Strikeforce 2.0 I'll bet they'll gradually ease away the legends/freak fights.
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
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The more I watch it, the more of it I'm compelled to watch.

It's good fights and good programming. And I genuinely feel better for the fighters I'm watching. Whenever I watch UFC, there's this underlying element that I'm watching modern-day Mandingo Fighting.
gotta agree with your filthy ass

More about the fights...except for the chael BS

Martial Artists deserve the upmost respect...something the UFC rarely gives
 

Clappin'Daddys

Posting Machine
Sep 9, 2015
2,529
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The "Legends/Freakshow" fights are necessary to get eyeball$ and rating$ up.
The Shamrock/Gracie/Kimbo/Tito type cards do phenomenal ratings, and that's where they earn their money that they can spend to get the legit contenders.
Once they fully morph into Strikeforce 2.0 I'll bet they'll gradually ease away the legends/freak fights.
Agreed. We can all claim we hate those train wrecks but we all watch. Those have drawn the biggest ratings by far. Think about it; signing prospects like Logan storley wasn't so much as a blip on the radar. The kid is a legit prospect, but his signing got no coverage.

Sign a legend and most hardcores are talking shit. You at least have their attention.

Plain fact is people love to hate.

As the old saying goes. Any publicity is good publicity.

Love me or hate me, just watch me.
 

BJJMMA

John Wayne Man in Johnny Depp World
Jun 7, 2016
1,586
2,565
Sign a legend and most hardcores are talking shit. You at least have their attention.

Plain fact is people love to hate.

As the old saying goes. Any publicity is good publicity.

Love me or hate me, just watch me.
Bingo. Just like we all know Fedor is done but we will watch him anyway.
We all know Royce is done but let them roll out Royce vs Shamrock again and we will watch again.
And lord knows we'd watch Kimbo. Heck we watched him and Dada practically die on tv.
 

giusti825

Active Member
Oct 20, 2015
136
195
Excellent article.
I don't think it's Strikeforce 2.0 YET...but it is really close to it.
I couldn't watch an entire Bellator event in the past..... now I do.
I was actually debating this yesterday.....

But was there ever a time where strikeforce had multiple fighters who were betting favorites over two ufc champions?

It can be argued that bellator has already surpassed strikeforce .....they just need to gilt the roster a bit......
 

Wild

Zi Nazi
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
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I was actually debating this yesterday.....

But was there ever a time where strikeforce had multiple fighters who were betting favorites over two ufc champions?

It can be argued that bellator has already surpassed strikeforce .....they just need to gilt the roster a bit......
Yep, IMO they need a couple of more legit names at HW, MW, and FW. Also think they need a couple of names in the womens divisions...be nice to see someone like Cat Zingano cross over. Viacom seems to be on a mission, and I expect them to continue signing free agents...so we'll see what happens. Then they need their stable of young guns (Fortune, Ruth, Davis, Trice, Pico, Cotton, Storley, McKee, etc) to continue to improve and work their way to the top of their respective divisions. If these things happen, look out.