HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — If Bellator MMA is destined to develop into a legitimate alternative to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, 2017 could well be the year that perceptions shift in that direction.
That is the hope and intention of fightmonger Scott Coker, who in his capacity as the president of Bellator MMA is operating with the full blessing of one of the largest media conglomerates in the world to make that happen. Aiming to sign, develop and promote fighters who will make combat sports fans eager to watch Bellator-branded fights on televisions and in arenas around the world, Coker sat alongside Spike executive John Slusser and between veteran stars Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen during a tension-filled press conference Thursday at the nearly completed Viacom headquarters in Los Angeles.
Coker said: "Tito is a legend. He's been around a long time. This is his last fight, so this is really important to him. I can tell. He's really emotional about this one. Chael, like if he was in this room right now and you weren't here, we'd be talking like boys and then once the cameras come on, he becomes this supervillain. I think they’ve both come to the table in a big way to help promote this fight."
As they traded barbs Thursday, Ortiz seemed to dwell in the anger Sonnen had inspired. Ortiz said throughout his 20 years as a professional mixed martial artist, emotion was the thing that fueled him.
Sonnen is far less visceral a competitor as someone who is playing a part, really, who butted up against the ugly truth of banned substances and who, because of a suspension, hasn't fought in more than three years. But if there's any rust to his game, it didn't show in his ability to spin a yarn or unfurl a cheap shot against the mother of Ortiz's twin boys.
As construction crews worked on putting the finishing touches on a building that will house the Bellator MMA staff under the same roof as other Viacom properties, Ortiz and Sonnen hurled insults and one-liners at each other, which is precisely what Coker imagined would happen when he convinced Spike executives to bring the light heavyweight headliner for Bellator 170 to the Forum in Inglewood, California, on Saturday.
"This is the perfect space," Coker told Bleacher Report after Ortiz and Sonnen lobbed verbal bombs prior to delivering real ones Saturday night. "This the first time Bellator has been there, and we thought let's really go for it. And we are. We're swinging for the fences, hoping for great results."
For Coker's purposes, the construction imagery makes sense.
Bellator 170 heralds what should be a memorable start to a new campaign for a promotion that spent most of last year laying down the foundation of a sustained and substantial advancement. Now, Coker said, is the time for that work to pay off at home and abroad.
Ortiz and Sonnen moved to Bellator from the UFC, which is indicative of the kinds of maneuvers Coker is serious about making as free agency for mixed martial artists becomes more prevalent.
UFC light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader will receive an offer from Bellator next week, Coker said.
"When you get a guy ranked in the top five, I think you have to take a good look at him," Coker remarked about Bader. "We’re going to go after every free agent that we can. That's coming from the top down. We're going to buy every free agent that we want. There's nobody that's off the list."
In doing so, Bellator hopes to continue to capitalize off names who may have been built up in the UFC, such as last year’s signing of Rory MacDonald, who is likely to make his debut on Spike around June.
That's been the case with Ortiz and Sonnen, who have driven an equal amount of press coverage ahead of their match at the Forum.
Coker's philosophy as a fight promoter is well-known, and an event pitting the likes of a 41-year-old Ortiz and a 38-year-old Sonnen fits in his worldview that prioritizes amusement over sport and fun above all else.
For Coker, there's much more sense in promoting a matchup between known veterans who most observers would agree are well past their best days than exhibiting the kind of contest the UFC did last Sunday in Phoenix when BJ Penn went down hard against young gun Yair Rodriguez.
"We would never do that," said Coker, who called bouts like that a mistake. "I don’t think that 25-year-olds should be fighting 40-year-olds. It doesn't mean that they can't compete, but to me why do that? You may as well not fight them because we all knew the outcome of that fight. The odds were really stacked against him.
"That's not really a fair fight. These guys have already fought all those guys. They've earned their legacy. If they want to continue to fight, you just can't put them in there with young guys. It's just not right."
This is a formula Coker will stick to as he leads Viacom's only sports property—a uniquely international business that plays well with the multinational media corporation's strengths.
Looking ahead, Bellator will promote up to nine events outside the U.S. in 2017. Coker has pegged cards in Budapest, Hungary, and Torino, Italy, for April. Bellator is expected to return to London in mid-May. A jaunt to South America (either Argentina or Brazil) and a big show in Rome are also in the offing, along with a potential date in Japan. Leveraging international television properties controlled by Viacom has driven these excursions, and Coker expects them to grow in importance.
"It's an international company," he said, "and I'm really feeling the international presence."
The largest consumer of MMA, among many other things, continues to be the U.S., and Coker still sees tremendous opportunity for Bellator to expand its brand of fighting this year and beyond.
"There's a lot of MMA here, no doubt, but I think we can make fights like Ortiz vs. Sonnen, like the Fedor fight, like the Quinton Jackson fight," he said. "We can make it a little bit more special that people tune in."
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