Bellator 180 (Bellator NYC): Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei SilvaJun 27, 2017 by FloCombat Staff
Scott Coker On 'Strikeforce 2.0,' Free Agency: If They Are Free, We'll Talk
Scott Coker On 'Strikeforce 2.0,' Free Agency: If They Are Free, We'll Talk
Bellator President Scott Coker discusses 'Strikeforce 2.0,' his aggressive free agency strategy, and more after Bellator NYC.
Bellator President Scott Coker believes in his vision.
The former Founder and CEO of Strikeforce took the wheel for Bellator in June of 2014, and since that time, the promotion has undergone drastic changes. Recently, Coker's plans and his direction culminated with the historic Bellator 180/Bellator NYC event, going down Saturday, June 24, inside New York's Madison Square Garden.
To Coker, the event marked just another step on his journey toward the top of the sport of MMA.
"When you talk about the phases of Bellator—because when I came in, they were having a hard time—and for the first six months, we were still on the road doing tournaments because we had contracts to uphold with our broadcast partners," Coker told FloCombat after Bellator NYC. "I really think I put my stake in the ground here when we did the Tito Ortiz vs. [Stephan] Bonnar fight. That kind of changed the look and the feel of Bellator.
"You guys saw what we did at Strikeforce. My background’s in K-1. I’ve been around some of the biggest martial arts fights, organizations, venues—I’ve been in the business a long time. When I look at Strikeforce, this is Strikeforce 2.0—bigger, better, and we definitely have an ownership group that is behind it. So, to me, it makes my job a lot easier. And it comes down to the fighters. I respect the hell out of these guys. These guys are great warriors. To me, they’re all winners, even with some losses tonight."
As the Strikeforce frontrunner, Coker arranged and delivered some massive events, including the 2008 rivalry fight between Frank Shamrock and Cung Le. At the time, the event was one of the most hotly anticipated contests on the marking, drawing major attention from fans and media alike. While there are some similarities in excitement and buzz, Coker says Bellator NYC was an entirely different beast.
"It’s a different feeling, because when Frank fought Cung, we had to sell literally one half of the building to Frank’s fans and one half to Cung’s fans," Coker said. "So either you’re a Frank Shamrock fan or you’re a Cung Le fan in the Bay Area. That was like the heated rivalry fight.
"This was just, the magnitude of this event, was just off the charts. To deliver the three title fights, to deliver the two big legend fights, and [Aaron Pico, and [James] Gallagher, I just feel like, man, if you’re a fight fan, this is the fight you want to be at."
Elaborating on Pico a touch, Coker said the 20-year-old and his team requested a dive into the deep waters for his professional debut. While the 10-fight veteran Zach Freeman appears to have been too big a first step in hindsight, Coker maintains everything was on an even playing field and that Pico's team knew exactly what they were doing.
"Aaron Pico, that’s a lot of pressure for a young kid," Coker said. "Now, they wanted that. They wanted to test this guy and put him out there. We’ll see. We’ll let him take a couple days off, take a week off at least and we’ll revisit that."
Turning to the event as a whole, Coker noted the bonkers double knockdown in the co-main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione and the performance of welterweight champion Douglas Lima, who defeated UFC transplant Lorenz Larkin. With Lima's victory, Coker believes he has even more ammo in his defense of Bellator's welterweight division as being the best on earth.
"We have the best welterweight division on the planet," Coker said. "I don’t see how anybody can debate that. … Look who Rory [MacDonald] has beat. Look who Lorenz beat. I was just watching Lorenz beat Robbie Lawler on Showtime. And [Jorge] Masvidal. When you talk about Rory MacDonald, Douglas Lima—to me, those are the best welterweights on the planet."
Much of Coker's and Bellator's recent success can be attributed to their aggressiveness in free agency. When fighters hit the open market, Bellator swarms, and they do it well, picking up MacDonald, Larkin, Roy Nelson, Mitrione, and many others. This is no accident. It's a significant part of the company's overall strategy, and it's not slowing any time soon.
"If you look at the amount of free agents that have come over, they’re happy here," Coker said. "They’re excited to be here. That’s not going to stop.
"Let me tell you, we’re going to go after every free agent we can get our hands on. We’re going to do it right. We’re not going to infringe on anybody’s contract, but if they are truly free, we’re going to have a serious conversation. … I think we signed 90 percent of the guys that were free agents that we wanted to sign [last year]. I think our success rate is pretty good."
The former Founder and CEO of Strikeforce took the wheel for Bellator in June of 2014, and since that time, the promotion has undergone drastic changes. Recently, Coker's plans and his direction culminated with the historic Bellator 180/Bellator NYC event, going down Saturday, June 24, inside New York's Madison Square Garden.
To Coker, the event marked just another step on his journey toward the top of the sport of MMA.
"When you talk about the phases of Bellator—because when I came in, they were having a hard time—and for the first six months, we were still on the road doing tournaments because we had contracts to uphold with our broadcast partners," Coker told FloCombat after Bellator NYC. "I really think I put my stake in the ground here when we did the Tito Ortiz vs. [Stephan] Bonnar fight. That kind of changed the look and the feel of Bellator.
"You guys saw what we did at Strikeforce. My background’s in K-1. I’ve been around some of the biggest martial arts fights, organizations, venues—I’ve been in the business a long time. When I look at Strikeforce, this is Strikeforce 2.0—bigger, better, and we definitely have an ownership group that is behind it. So, to me, it makes my job a lot easier. And it comes down to the fighters. I respect the hell out of these guys. These guys are great warriors. To me, they’re all winners, even with some losses tonight."
As the Strikeforce frontrunner, Coker arranged and delivered some massive events, including the 2008 rivalry fight between Frank Shamrock and Cung Le. At the time, the event was one of the most hotly anticipated contests on the marking, drawing major attention from fans and media alike. While there are some similarities in excitement and buzz, Coker says Bellator NYC was an entirely different beast.
"It’s a different feeling, because when Frank fought Cung, we had to sell literally one half of the building to Frank’s fans and one half to Cung’s fans," Coker said. "So either you’re a Frank Shamrock fan or you’re a Cung Le fan in the Bay Area. That was like the heated rivalry fight.
"This was just, the magnitude of this event, was just off the charts. To deliver the three title fights, to deliver the two big legend fights, and [Aaron Pico, and [James] Gallagher, I just feel like, man, if you’re a fight fan, this is the fight you want to be at."
Elaborating on Pico a touch, Coker said the 20-year-old and his team requested a dive into the deep waters for his professional debut. While the 10-fight veteran Zach Freeman appears to have been too big a first step in hindsight, Coker maintains everything was on an even playing field and that Pico's team knew exactly what they were doing.
"Aaron Pico, that’s a lot of pressure for a young kid," Coker said. "Now, they wanted that. They wanted to test this guy and put him out there. We’ll see. We’ll let him take a couple days off, take a week off at least and we’ll revisit that."
Turning to the event as a whole, Coker noted the bonkers double knockdown in the co-main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione and the performance of welterweight champion Douglas Lima, who defeated UFC transplant Lorenz Larkin. With Lima's victory, Coker believes he has even more ammo in his defense of Bellator's welterweight division as being the best on earth.
"We have the best welterweight division on the planet," Coker said. "I don’t see how anybody can debate that. … Look who Rory [MacDonald] has beat. Look who Lorenz beat. I was just watching Lorenz beat Robbie Lawler on Showtime. And [Jorge] Masvidal. When you talk about Rory MacDonald, Douglas Lima—to me, those are the best welterweights on the planet."
Much of Coker's and Bellator's recent success can be attributed to their aggressiveness in free agency. When fighters hit the open market, Bellator swarms, and they do it well, picking up MacDonald, Larkin, Roy Nelson, Mitrione, and many others. This is no accident. It's a significant part of the company's overall strategy, and it's not slowing any time soon.
"If you look at the amount of free agents that have come over, they’re happy here," Coker said. "They’re excited to be here. That’s not going to stop.
"Let me tell you, we’re going to go after every free agent we can get our hands on. We’re going to do it right. We’re not going to infringe on anybody’s contract, but if they are truly free, we’re going to have a serious conversation. … I think we signed 90 percent of the guys that were free agents that we wanted to sign [last year]. I think our success rate is pretty good."