Scott Coker explains what makes Valerie Loureda a special fighter

Bellator President Scott Coker is extremely impressed by the promotion’s red-hot flyweight prospect Valerie Loureda.

Loureda, a Taekwondo specialist who is now 3-0 as a mixed martial artist under the Bellator banner, was the subject of some high praise from the promotion’s president at the Bellator 244 post-fight press conference.

When asked about Loureda, Coker gave his take on what makes her such a compelling prospect. The Bellator boss pointed to the fighter’s traditional martial arts background, her willingness to learn, her social media savvy, and her grit in the cage.

“She’s a traditional martial artist,” Coker said of Loureda (via MMA Junkie). “The father teaches taekwondo, her sister trains, and I think she’s got some kicking skills and she got some punching skills and what I really liked is that she is in the gym and she’s training. She’s learning the game of mixed martial arts and not just sticking to her traditional style.

“I think the world enjoyed her TikTok dance, right? It was a great thing and she had a lot of engagement in that and we’ll take it,” he added, referencing Loureda’ social media presence. “It’s great for us too, but at the end of the day, you have to put your time in and you have to learn to be a complete mixed martial arts fighter, which she’s doing.

“I think you’re just gonna see her grow and grow because she’s athletic, she’s in shape, she comes to fight, she’s got that little mean, little thing that you gotta have. That little spirit to fight, to really be in the cage, being a warrior so she’s got that grit about her. She can do this, she just has to keep training and get better.”

Valerie Loureda last fought at Bellator 243, when she scored a devastating knockout victory over Tara Graff, who made some controversial comments about Loureda’s social media activity ahead of the fight.

Shortly after the victory, Loureda inked a new long-term, multi-fight deal with Bellator, which demonstrated the promotion’s commitment to her, and vice versa.