Scott Coker Talks Ryan Bader, Georges St-Pierre, Lorenz Larkin and Ryback
Scott Coker Talks Ryan Bader, Georges St-Pierre, Lorenz Larkin and Ryback
Bellator President Scott Coker shared his thoughts on several big names in the free agent market.
It’s been a busy week for Bellator MMA President Scott Coker, but while he prepares for Bellator’s first ever show in Dublin, Ireland, his executives behind the scenes are still hard at work looking at the free agency market.
Speaking earlier this week at the Bellator 169 press conference, Coker said that as a Viacom backed promotion, Bellator would be in the market for any talent on the free agency that they see fit to approach.
Coker sat down with Submission Radio and spoke about several free agents Bellator had recently been linked with. One man in the UFC currently awaiting to speak to other organizations once his exclusivity clause expires is UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader.
“Ryan Bader, I believe, is under an exclusive negotiation period,” Coker said. “Once he’s free, we’ll start talking to him. But yeah, is he somebody that we’ll talk to if he is free? Of course, we’ll talk to him.”
One man whose future isn’t so clear is Georges St-Pierre who was widely expected to return to the action earlier month at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada.
After negotiations broke down between the UFC and his management, St-Pierre went on record to say he was a free agent, however, relations between the two parties seem to better now following follow meetings in Las Vegas.
While the picture on St-Pierre remains unclear, Coker wasn’t ruling out a potential move for the former UFC welterweight champion.
“Well Georges St-Pierre is in a little bit of a grey area, because he’s saying he’s free, ZUFFA’s saying that no, he’s still with us,” Coker said. “I think they’ve got some stuff to work out, and let’s see what happens after that.
“If he was a complete free agent and everybody felt that he was a free agent, then yeah, we would love to talk to him.”
One man who was strongly linked to Bellator a few months ago was the former WWE wrestler, Ryback. When asked for an update on the situation, Coker revealed the deal was no longer that looking likely.
“Yeah, we talked to him and we just couldn’t put the deal together,” Coker said. “If he wanted to come back and change his mind, you know, but I think it’s easier for him to stay in some type of wrestling and be an entertainer.”
When asked why the talks broke down, Coker implied it was down to monetary reasons.
“I’m not exactly sure, because they were talking to Rich, our matchmaker, but I think it was just basically on what the economics were,” Coker said. “Sometimes the fighter or an athlete feels they’re valued a certain price, and sometimes we don’t feel that way.”
While the Ryback deal looks off for the minute, a deal with Lorenz Larkin still appears to be very much on the table. Again though, the Bellator President suggested that it would be all about making the numbers on the contract work for both parties.
“I like Lorenz,” Coker said. “We’re actually talking to him right now. And I think Lorenz is more just of economics, as to if we can make the economics work.”
Speaking earlier this week at the Bellator 169 press conference, Coker said that as a Viacom backed promotion, Bellator would be in the market for any talent on the free agency that they see fit to approach.
Ryan Bader
Coker sat down with Submission Radio and spoke about several free agents Bellator had recently been linked with. One man in the UFC currently awaiting to speak to other organizations once his exclusivity clause expires is UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader.
“Ryan Bader, I believe, is under an exclusive negotiation period,” Coker said. “Once he’s free, we’ll start talking to him. But yeah, is he somebody that we’ll talk to if he is free? Of course, we’ll talk to him.”
Georges St-Pierre
One man whose future isn’t so clear is Georges St-Pierre who was widely expected to return to the action earlier month at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada.
After negotiations broke down between the UFC and his management, St-Pierre went on record to say he was a free agent, however, relations between the two parties seem to better now following follow meetings in Las Vegas.
While the picture on St-Pierre remains unclear, Coker wasn’t ruling out a potential move for the former UFC welterweight champion.
“Well Georges St-Pierre is in a little bit of a grey area, because he’s saying he’s free, ZUFFA’s saying that no, he’s still with us,” Coker said. “I think they’ve got some stuff to work out, and let’s see what happens after that.
“If he was a complete free agent and everybody felt that he was a free agent, then yeah, we would love to talk to him.”
Ryback
One man who was strongly linked to Bellator a few months ago was the former WWE wrestler, Ryback. When asked for an update on the situation, Coker revealed the deal was no longer that looking likely.
“Yeah, we talked to him and we just couldn’t put the deal together,” Coker said. “If he wanted to come back and change his mind, you know, but I think it’s easier for him to stay in some type of wrestling and be an entertainer.”
When asked why the talks broke down, Coker implied it was down to monetary reasons.
“I’m not exactly sure, because they were talking to Rich, our matchmaker, but I think it was just basically on what the economics were,” Coker said. “Sometimes the fighter or an athlete feels they’re valued a certain price, and sometimes we don’t feel that way.”
Lorenz Larkin
While the Ryback deal looks off for the minute, a deal with Lorenz Larkin still appears to be very much on the table. Again though, the Bellator President suggested that it would be all about making the numbers on the contract work for both parties.
“I like Lorenz,” Coker said. “We’re actually talking to him right now. And I think Lorenz is more just of economics, as to if we can make the economics work.”