Scott Coker News

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2018

Last night, Bellator MMA promoted arguably its biggest card yet in Bellator 206. Given the scale of this card, Bellator MMA arranged to have the fights broadcast live on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom in the wee hours of them morning — rather than just airing it on tape delay long after it ended. And British fans were thrilled. Unfortunately, UK MMA fans got a rather strange surprise as they geared up for the card’s massive Gegard Mousasi vs. Rory MacDonald main event. The fights suddenly disappeared, and were replaced by children’s television program.

Tom Taylor - September 28, 2018

Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is currently a free agent. Given his station in the MMA world, it was expected that Alvarez would be courted by many of the sport’s top promotions, including Bellator MMA, where he once wore lightweight gold. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Eddie Alvarez will be returning to the Bellator cage. Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of this weekend’s Bellator 206 card, Bellator President Scott Coker divulged that his team had spoken to Alvarez, but that their talks didn’t amount to much.

Drake Riggs - August 13, 2018

When one chapter closes another begins. And it may be that time again for one of the lightweight division’s all-time greats. ‘The Underground King’ Eddie Alvarez just recently fought out of his contract in the second of two wars with Dustin Poirier.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

We already know that former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida’s Bellator career will unfurl in both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions. Apparently, however, Machida’s multi-divisional ambition might carry him all the way to the Bellator heavyweight division, where he could even battle MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. According to Bellator boss Scott Coker, this is a fight Lyoto Machida has actually asked or. And depending on how Emelianenko’s involvement in the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix shakes out, it’s a fight that could actually happen. Machida might also find himself in the cage with the winner of Gegard Mousasi and Rory MacDonald’s September 29 middleweight title fight.

Tom Taylor - May 18, 2018

The Bellator roster has been getting better and better over the last few years, as the promotion has signed a host of high profile stars, such as Rory MacDonald, Gegard Mousasi, Fedor Emelianenko, Chael Sonnen, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Wanderlei Silva, Ryan Bader, Phil Davis, Matt Mitrione, Benson Henderson and Roy Nelson. While these are the names that have been headlining Bellator’s biggest cards of late, Bellator president Scott Coker expects the promotion’s ever-deepening pool of prospects — which includes names like Aaron Pico, AJ McKee, James Gallagher, and Tyrell and Tyree Fortune — to begin carrying the torch in the near future.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2018

Over the last few weeks, there’s been significant buzz about a potential fight between Bellator welterweight champ Rory MacDonald, and former Bellator and ONE welterweight champ Ben Askren. While this fight is one that most fans want to see, the key roadblock is that, even in his retirement, Askren remains under contract with ONE Championship. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Bellator President Scott Coker divulged that he recently met with ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong to discuss a possible Askren vs. MacDonald matchup. While we already know that Coker isn’t interested in bringing Askren back to Bellator for a one-off fight, it sounds like he is interested in swapping fighters with ONE Championship in the future.

Tom Taylor - April 30, 2018

Over the last few weeks, undefeated former Bellator and ONE welterweight titleholder Ben Askren has expressed interest in ending his retirement for a fight with Rory MacDonald in Bellator, or Georges St-Pierre in the UFC. Chatri Sityodtong, the Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship (where Askren is still technically under contract) seemed willing to work with Bellator to allow Askren to fight Rory MacDonald.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

Paul Daley vs. Michael “Venom” Page is just one of those fights. The fans want it, Bellator MMA wants it, and both fighters claim to want it, yet the relevant parties just can’t seem to come to an agreement to make it happen. When it comes to this fight’s failure to come to fruition, we’ve seen the blame tossed around like a hot potato. The latest recipient of this blame was Daley, who was recently named as the reason the fight hasn’t been booked yet by Bellator president Scott Coker.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2018

Last weekend, Bellator MMA’s anticipated Heavyweight Grand Prix officially got underway, as Chael Sonnen advanced to the second-round with a unanimous decision win over former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. While the tournament is now rolling, however, the official alternates – understudies should any fighters get injured – have been a mystery.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2017

Bellator’s heavyweight division is starting to look pretty damn good. The division’s top fighters include Matt Mitrione, Cheick Kongo, and Roy Nelson, while other stars like Fedor Emelianenko, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Bobby Lashley, Javy Ayala, and Sergey Kharitonov are also in the mix. Unfortunately, however, the division doesn’t have a champion, and hasn’t since former champ, Vitaly Minakov, was stripped in the midst of a contract dispute. Yet according to Bellator head honcho Scott Coker, that could change in the first quarter of 2018. “I think that we’ll probably crown a new champion first quarter of next year and then we’ll start having a lot more fights in the heavyweight division,” Coker said on the latest episode of The MMA Hour. “We’ve got some great heavyweights now, there’s a lot of matchups that I can’t wait to see and I’m excited about 2018. I think 2018 is going to be a very busy year, a big growth year for Bellator, and the heavyweight division will be a big part of it.”

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2017

Bellator MMA has been trying to pit rival British strikers Paul Daley and Michael “Venom” Page against one another for ages. Unfortunately, the bout has yet to come to fruition, despite the best efforts of Bellator President Scott Coker and his team. Fresh of a knockout win in his boxing debut, Page recently explained that he’s lost most of his interest in this fight. That said, the flash British knockout artist said he could be coaxed into the cage with Daley if the bout was arranged with winner-take-all stakes.

Justin Golightly - September 5, 2017

Conor McGregor boxing Floyd Mayweather was one of the biggest fights of all time. Depending on which numbers you’ve seen. it either outperformed Mayweather’s fight with Manny Pacquiao or raked in just underneath it. The UFC lightweight champion made a ton of money, of course not as much as Mayweather, and Showtime definitely made a fortune. One business man though, in his own right, thinks that the two fighters could earn even more fighting inside an MMA cage. “If Floyd would fight Conor in MMA I think he’d do a bigger gate and a bigger PPV than boxing. People will say Conor will probably take him out or choke him out, but those two guys could sell anything. They would sell that fight, people would buy it and I think it would break the record from the weekend before last. If Conor takes him down, chokes him out and Floyd taps, there’s no loss of respect there. If you tap out it just means it’s his night and you go on to the next fight. Why not let him do it?”

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2017

The UFC has received a tremendous amount of criticism for its athlete outfitting deal with Reebok over the years. Fighters from Al Iaquinta to Matt Mitrione to Nate Quarry to Ryan Bader have spoken out against the deal, disgusted by the fact that they’re being deprived of the far larger paydays they could earn if they were allowed to pursue their own sponsorship. The financial hit that many fighters have felt since the UFC’s deal with Reebok launched has caused a significant exodus of talent from the UFC to Bellator, where fighters are allowed to work with their own sponsors. Fighters such as Matt Mitrione, Ryan Bader and Rory MacDonald have all made the jump, and Bellator President Scott Coker believes the Reebok deal is a significant contributing factor to this trend.

Russell Ess - June 2, 2017

There has been some buzz surrounding a potential return to competition for former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. Liddell has kept himself busy with training and looks to be in terrific shape. John Hackleman, who is a longtime coach of “The Iceman,” said that if it were up to him on a comeback, it would all depend on the matchup.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2017

On Friday evening, in the main event of Bellator 179, British bomber Paul Daley had the opportunity to spoil the Bellator debut of former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald, and set himself up for a shot at the winner of Bellator NYC’s Douglas Lima vs. Lorenz Larkin title fight. Regrettably for Daley and his British fans, MacDonald was simply too much. The Canadian star locked up a choke for the win in the second round. Just moments after his loss, a clever Daley shifted gears and planted the seed for his next fight by engaging in a near-brawl with fellow British striker Michael Page in the stands.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2017

Yesterday afternoon, in a statement to BJPenn.com, UFC featherweight star Cris “Cyborg” Justino discussed her current inactivity, her hopes for a UFC 214 fight with reigning featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie, and her intention to fight out her current UFC contract and ‘re-evaluate the situation.’ “If [Germaine de Randamie] is not healthy enough to fight at UFC 214 in Anaheim, I don’t want an interim belt,” Cyborg said in this statement. “When the UFC asked me last January to fight her for the belt, I explained to them I would, but needed a March date because my body was still recovering from two weight cuts to 140lbs. So I know what it is like to want to accept the fight, but needing additional time to heal.”

Tom Taylor - February 27, 2017

If you watched UFC 208 earlier this month, the broadcast probably sounded much different than you’re used to. That, of course, is because long time UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg was not a part of the broadcast team. Instead, the broadcast booth was filled by a three-man team of Joe Rogan, Jon Anik, and UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Golberg was released by the UFC in late 2016. His last broadcast as a UFC employee was December’s UFC 207, after which he was sent packing with precisely zero thanks from the UFC, or acknowledgement for the decades of hard work he put in for the company.

bjpenndotcom - February 15, 2017

BJPENN.COM Radio is live at 8PM ET/5PM PT with another great lineup of headliners! 8:15 PM ET- We kick off tonights show with former Bellator light heavyweight champ, Liam McGeary – @liam_mcgeary. Liam breaks down his upcoming bout with Chris Fields at Bellator 173 in Belfast, Ireland next Friday. The submission specialist recaps his first professional defeat at the hands of current champ Phil Davis and explains what he’d do differently in a rematch. We also get his take on the claims of fight fixing and what all his fans should expect from McGeary in 2017.