More and more free agents are seeking refuge in the welcoming arms of Bellator. Some of the bigger free agent signings Bellator President Scott Coker has made since taking the helm include former UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson, Phil Davis (who is now the Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight Champion), Rory MacDonald, Chael Sonnen and Matt Mitrione to name a few.
Coker, when talking to MMA Junkie, talked about how he had to change the way Bellator operated when it came to adding fighters to the roster.
“As far as the philosophy of building the roster, I think we had a good roster when I came in,” Coker said. “But let’s face it: We had to build some stars and find some stars. We’re committed to building a fight league to the best of our ability, and I think the free agents are just going to keep coming.”
One of the primary reasons that Coker thinks that free agents are coming to Bellator MMA is due to the big fight feel and presentation Bellator provides.
“I think we honestly have the best produced show in MMA, when you look at the quality of the production and the screens and the lighting,” Coker said. “I mean, Spike TV knows how to put that together. They do a fantastic job, and I’ve been around a lot of great production. I’ll never forget walking into a stadium with 65,000 people for a kickboxing show – the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001… I thought that when we want to do it, this is how we should do it, and that’s how we did it in Strikeforce. And Spike has just taken it to a whole different level. So I’m appreciate of that.”
Bellator MMA will hold a total of 5 events from now until the end of the year. Everything concludes with Bellator 169 on December 16, which is headlined by King Mo and Satoshi Ishii.
