Scott Coker News

Josh Evanoff - October 4, 2023

Heading into Bellator 300, Scott Coker couldn’t be happier with the company’s growth. This Saturday night, the company will hold its historic 300th event. As of now, the card is set to be headlined by Usman Nurmagomedov’s title defense against Brent Primus, but that’s far from the only gold on the line. Champions Cris Cyborg and Liz Carmouche will defend against Cat Zingano and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.

Josh Evanoff - August 11, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker wants fans to know that they’ll be around for a while after October. Earlier this week, the company announced several fights for their historic Bellator 300 event. Headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Ryan Bader and Linton Vassell, three other championship bouts are slated for the event. Champions Cris Cyborg, Usman Nurmagomedov, and Liz Carmouche are slated for the event. They will face challengers Cat Zingano, Brent Primus, and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, respectively.

Josh Evanoff - June 19, 2023

Scott Coker crowned Vadim Nemkov as the best light-heavyweight on the planet after his win over Yoel Romero. The Russian made his return to the cage on Friday night in the main event of Bellator 297. There, he faced the ‘Soldier of God’, who entered the contest riding a two-fight winning streak. However, Yoel Romero’s recent success ended over the weekend.

Cole Shelton - June 15, 2023

Scott Coker has opened up on the rumor that the PFL is buying Bellator. It was recently reported that Bellator is up for sale and PFL was in talks to buy them. It was unknown if they would merge into one promotion, but UFC president Dana White was shocked PFL was trying to buy Bellator.

Fernando Quiles - May 14, 2023

Bellator President Scott Coker recently recalled how Cris Cyborg’s new Bellator contract came to be. Cyborg, the reigning Bellator Women’s Featherweight Champion, had been a free agent. Many wondered if she would make the move to PFL in order to fight Kayla Harrison. Ultimately, Cyborg decided to stick around with Bellator.

Zain Bando - May 11, 2023

Bellator will begin a new era of its broadcasting history Friday, as the promotion announced a new change for Canadian MMA viewers. According to TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, Bellator events will move from exclusive broadcasts on YouTube to a semi-traditional pay-per-view model, beginning with Bellator 296 in Paris, France.

Fernando Quiles - March 12, 2023

Goiti Yamauchi suffered a nasty knee injury at the conclusion of his Bellator 292 scrap with Michael Page. Yamauchi and Page shared the cage inside the SAP Center in San Jose, California. This one only last 26 seconds as Page landed a leg kick that totaled Yamauchi’s knee for the TKO finish. It was not a pretty sight, and it was quite clear that Yamauchi suffered an injury that will keep him out of action for a while.

Fernando Quiles - February 26, 2023

Bellator President Scott Coker believes that a slew of champions under his banner are better than the UFC’s titleholders. Coker and UFC President Dana White aren’t exactly bitter enemies, but the two have thrown verbal jabs at one another. In a 2018 lawsuit deposition, White said every promotion Coker touches has failed.

Harry Kettle - February 2, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker has revealed that he’s in talks with Luke Rockhold over possibly working together again. Following his decision loss to Paulo Costa last summer, Luke Rockhold appeared to walk away from mixed martial arts. At the very least, it was clear to see he wouldn’t be fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship anymore.

Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker was surprised to see Dillon Danis pull out of his boxing match with KSI. ‘El Jefe’ is an interesting figure in the combat sports community. A former training partner of Conor McGregor and Jiu-Jitsu coach, Danis signed with Bellator in 2017 to begin his MMA career. The subsequent year, he defeated Kyle Walker by first-round submission.

Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker has revealed some big plans for this year. The Showtime-based promotion is prone to doing some ideas that are a bit outside the box. Recently, the promotion traveled to Japan to send five of their best fighters against five of RIZIN’s best. Bellator wound up sweeping the matchups, with names like A.J. McKee and Patricio Pitbull picking up big wins.

Susan Cox - January 2, 2023

Scott Coker is reacting after his Bellator fighters went a perfect 5-0 against Rizin on New Years Eve. Coker, 60, the current president of Bellator can’t hide the pride he has in his promotion closing out 2022 with a clean sweep this past Saturday, December 31st.

Josh Evanoff - November 21, 2022

Bellator President Scott Coker isn’t super thrilled with Dillon Danis’s new career choice. ‘El Jefe’ has been a controversial figure since making his way into the MMA world. Originally coming onto the scene as Conor McGregor‘s jiu-jitsu coach, Danis quickly began making a name of his own. In 2017, the submission ace signed with Bellator.

Zain Bando - November 18, 2022

Scott Coker took it slow when COVID-19 took over the world, as he held his Bellator events at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut without fans. Unlike the UFC, who forged ahead earlier than any other MMA promotion or major sports league, Bellator remained complacent that the right time would eventually come. And, sure enough, it did. Over the last eight months or so, Bellator has returned to the likes of Ireland, San Jose, Arizona, Italy and many others locations. One of those locations in the ladder category is Chicago, Ill., as Bellator 288 plays host to two title fights at the top of the bill, including light heavyweight title challenger Corey “Overtime” Anderson, as he’ll rematch Vadim Nemkov in the finals of the long-awaited conclusion of the Grand Prix.

Harry Kettle - October 11, 2022

Bellator president Scott Coker has explained what it would take for the promotion to add a 165lbs division. For the longest time now, a lot of fans, fighters and pundit have been discussing the possibility of a 165-pound division being added across mixed martial arts. Alongside this being implemented, it would also probably shift the welterweight limit from 170 up to 175, largely to maintain the 10-pound gap between so many of the weight classes.

Josh Evanoff - October 4, 2022

Bellator president Scott Coker has revealed who Fedor Emelianenko could fight next. ‘The Last Emperor’ has been out of action since his knockout victory over Tim Johnson in October 2021. The bout moved Emelianenko to a two-fight winning streak, as he had previously finished Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in Japan in December 2019.

Cole Shelton - September 26, 2022

Scott Coker doesn’t know if Dillon Danis will fight in Bellator again. Danis was a high-profile signing for Bellator as he was highly known for his work in jiu-jitsu as well as being a training partner and grappling coach of Conor McGregor. However, the signing hasn’t panned out as Danis has fought just twice in Bellator and hasn’t competed since 2019 and Coker is unsure if he will fight again.

Fernando Quiles - September 25, 2022

Bellator President Scott Coker has cleared the air on the extent of his “dialogue” with Nate Diaz. Coker recently turned some heads when he told reporters that he was in communication with Diaz. The Stockton native has fought out of his UFC contract and he revealed his plan to fight outside of the promotion for a little while, but he vowed to eventually return.