Scott Coker On Bellator NYC: 'This Is The Best Fight Card Of 2017'
Scott Coker On Bellator NYC: 'This Is The Best Fight Card Of 2017'
Bellator President Scott Coker believes his promotion's card at Madison Square Garden will be the biggest of 2017.
It's been a big year that will only get bigger for Bellator.
The promotion has been a constant present in headlines across the MMA sphere with big free agent acquisitions seemingly happening on the regular. A collective of former UFC talent has found a home with the Los Angeles-based promotion, and with names like Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin and Ryan Bader signing on, the star power on the Bellator roster has increased considerably in the past year.
That said, President Scott Coker is adamant about keeping the growth rolling strong, and that's why his organization has pulled out all the stops for their debut at Madison Square Garden. Bellator 180 and Bellator NYC will run back to back on June 24 in New York City and will feature an action-packed lineup of current champions and MMA legends alike.
In fact, the card is slated to have so much elite level talent, Coker believes Bellator NYC to be the most staked pay-per-view card in any promotion in MMA thus far in 2017. And while he's leaving the door open for something bigger to come along before the year comes to close, Coker welcomes the challenge because it will only bring more eyes to the sport as a whole.
"I think we are on our way," Coker told FloCombat. "If you look at our first fight with Tito Ortiz fighting Chael [Sonnen]. Then we were going to have Fedor vs. [Matt] Mitrione which didn't work out because of kidney stones. We come here with this fight then we have the fight with Rory MacDonald fighting Paul Daley at Wembley. Then we go right into the pay-per-view card. This is going to be a great year for Bellator.
"When I think about this pay-per-view card this is the best pay-per-view card of 2017. There hasn't been a better one this year and I'm a fan. The fights that are worthy I buy them boxing or MMA. To me this is something I would buy and to me this is the best fight card to date. There might be something at the end of the year, who knows, but for right now this is the fight card.
The promotion has been a constant present in headlines across the MMA sphere with big free agent acquisitions seemingly happening on the regular. A collective of former UFC talent has found a home with the Los Angeles-based promotion, and with names like Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin and Ryan Bader signing on, the star power on the Bellator roster has increased considerably in the past year.
That said, President Scott Coker is adamant about keeping the growth rolling strong, and that's why his organization has pulled out all the stops for their debut at Madison Square Garden. Bellator 180 and Bellator NYC will run back to back on June 24 in New York City and will feature an action-packed lineup of current champions and MMA legends alike.
In fact, the card is slated to have so much elite level talent, Coker believes Bellator NYC to be the most staked pay-per-view card in any promotion in MMA thus far in 2017. And while he's leaving the door open for something bigger to come along before the year comes to close, Coker welcomes the challenge because it will only bring more eyes to the sport as a whole.
"I think we are on our way," Coker told FloCombat. "If you look at our first fight with Tito Ortiz fighting Chael [Sonnen]. Then we were going to have Fedor vs. [Matt] Mitrione which didn't work out because of kidney stones. We come here with this fight then we have the fight with Rory MacDonald fighting Paul Daley at Wembley. Then we go right into the pay-per-view card. This is going to be a great year for Bellator.
"When I think about this pay-per-view card this is the best pay-per-view card of 2017. There hasn't been a better one this year and I'm a fan. The fights that are worthy I buy them boxing or MMA. To me this is something I would buy and to me this is the best fight card to date. There might be something at the end of the year, who knows, but for right now this is the fight card.