Tag: Scott Coker

Leaked messages reveals UFC boss Dana White’s trashing of Scott Coker: ‘I turned Ronda Rousey into a star’

Dana White trashes Scott Coker in antitrust lawsuit deposition I turned Ronda Rousey into a star UFCAmid the ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought against the UFC, the promotion’s CEO, Dana White openly criticized Bellator MMA boss,…

Dana White trashes Scott Coker in antitrust lawsuit deposition I turned Ronda Rousey into a star UFC

Amid the ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought against the UFC, the promotion’s CEO, Dana White openly criticized Bellator MMA boss, Scott Coker – claiming the veteran promoter was a bad one at that, as well as taking credit for the stardom amassed by former UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey.

Dana White claims he turned Ronda Rousey into a star

In leaked text messages obtained by Bloody Elbow and esteemed reporter, John S. Nash, former UFC CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta  claimed that Bellator took “castoffs” from the UFC – in the form of former light heavyweight champions, Quinton Jackson, and Tito Ortiz – in response to a booking of a fight between the duo, as well as labelling Coker a “very bad promoter”.

Question: Okay, what did you understand Mr. Fertitta to be saying there?

Dana White: That Bellator had come out and said, ‘We don’t take UFC castoffs.’

Question: All right. And – but nevertheless, UFC viewed Mr. Ortiz and Mr. Jackson as essentially castoffs?

White: That’s – that’s Scott Coker’s MO. Scott Coker doesn’t build anyone, right? He doesn’yt turn anybody into stars. He just takes old names and recycles them. He’s a – he – he’s a very, very bad promoter.

Question: Okay.

Dana White: Very bad at what he does.

Question: All right. And that’s a – that’s – you’re saying that – I just want to understand you. Because Mr. Coker’s been in several different promotions, right?

White: Right.

Question: Okay.

White: All failures. 

And during the deposition, White claimed that while inaugural UFC bantamweight champion< Rousey was signed from the Coked-led Strikeforce banner, where she also held championship spoils, it was he, not Coker who made the Riverside native a “star” – before claiming Coker should “open a restaurant”, if he couldn’t, in his opinion, turn her into a star.

Question: Right. Is it your – not withstanding the fact that the UFC got some – I think as you testified earlier, some really great fighters from Mr. Coker’s Strikeforc promotion, right?

Dana White: That we turned into stars. When you have Ronda Rousey and you can’t turn her into a star, you should probably go open a restaurant or something.

Question: And so – and so is it your testimony that at Bellator, Mr. Coker is continuing to ressntially recycle has-been fighters? Is that –

White: Well, no. He – he recycles big names.

Question: Right.

White: “That’s what he does. Rampage Jackson is a huge name. Tito Ortiz is a huge name. And – and basically, he re– you know, takes guys with big names and puts on fights with them instead of turning guys into stars, even when he has a roster packed with stars, and one of them include Ronda Rousey.

Question: Well, Ronda Rousey wasn’t a star at the time that she was fighting under contract with Strikeforce, right?

White: ‘Till I turned her into a star.

White: Just for the record, I turned her into a star immediately when she got to the UFC – 

Question: Okay.

White – her first fight.

Dillon Danis claims Bellator CEO Scott Coker is keeping him on the shelf: ‘I’ve offered to fight on every card’

Dillon DanisDillon Danis called out Scott Coker on social media, suggesting the Bellator CEO is the reason why he has been sitting on the sidelines for nearly four years. Danis’ run under the Bellator banner started off promising with the BJJ specialist securing back-to-back wins against Kyle Walker and Max Humphry. After two-straight first-round submissions, MMA […]

Dillon Danis

Dillon Danis called out Scott Coker on social media, suggesting the Bellator CEO is the reason why he has been sitting on the sidelines for nearly four years.

Danis’ run under the Bellator banner started off promising with the BJJ specialist securing back-to-back wins against Kyle Walker and Max Humphry. After two-straight first-round submissions, MMA fans were curious to see just how far Dannis could go. Four years later, some fans are still waiting while others have moved on.

Dillon Danis’ last appearance in the cage came at Bellator 222 back in June 2019, but according to the New Jersey native, his lack of competition is the fault of Scott Coker. At least, that’s what Danis is claiming in his latest Twitter post.

“this shit is wack @ScottCoker i’ve offered to fight every card since 2 years ago got texts to back it up,” Danis tweeted.

Since his last walk to the Bellator cage, Dillon Danis has only been booked for two fights. The first was expected to be his third appearance for the promotion at Bellator 238: Budd vs. Cyborg. Danis withdrew from the contest due to an injury. Fast forward to 2023, he was scheduled for a boxing match against social media star KSI at Misfits & DAZN: X Series 004 in January. Danis again pulled out of the bout just weeks prior.

Scott Coker is yet to comment on Danis’ accusation, but the Bellator CEO issued somewhat of an ultimatum to the part-time fighter full-time trash-talker during a Bellator 290 media event in February.

“I talked to his management the other day and I keep asking, ‘What do you guys really want to do?’” Coker said of Danis. “I mean, really, it’s up to you guys. We can’t make you come fight, but we also have to have realistic expectations…

“Look, we are a fight company. You wanna fight, come fight. It’s that simple to me. You already have a contract in place, let’s pick a date, pick an opponent and let’s go. Or let’s move on.”

Twitter Users Aren’t Buying Dillon Danis’ Latest Claim

MMA Twitter was quick to call bullsh*t on Dillon Danis’ claim, some even coming from former fans that grew tired of Danis’ incessant trolling on social media, throwing out unrealistic challenges to fighters that would never give him the time of day for money he doesn’t have.

Scott Coker weighs up signing ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou to Bellator: ‘Right now it’s 50/50’

Scott Coker Francis Ngannou Bellator UFCFormer UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou certainly has his eyes set on a significant payday, most likely one only reserved for the professional boxing ranks. Earlier this year, Ngannou parted ways with the UFC after a long contract dispute, ultimately the promotion was unwilling to pay ‘The Predator’ what he was asking for. So, Ngannou […]

Scott Coker Francis Ngannou Bellator UFC

Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou certainly has his eyes set on a significant payday, most likely one only reserved for the professional boxing ranks.

Earlier this year, Ngannou parted ways with the UFC after a long contract dispute, ultimately the promotion was unwilling to pay ‘The Predator’ what he was asking for. So, Ngannou has bet on himself and is currently exploring avenues, which include boxing, in search of the pay-out which he feels he deserves. 

The 36-year-old has seemingly held talks with numerous suiters, but a deal has not been done as of yet. Bellator president Scott Coker revealed on The MMA Hour that his team had spoken to Ngannou and was insistent that the promotions broadcasters, Showtime, was the best place for the heavyweight.

“My guys have been talking to Francis, I know they’ve met”, Coker said talking while talking to media. “Stephen [Espinoza, Showtime Sports president] met with him on the boxing side. I’ve always said it’d be a perfect fit for him because he could do boxing, he could do MMA, but I don’t think that there’s anything close to a deal being presented back and forth. So, let’s see what happens.”

Is Francis Ngannou asking for too much money? 

Coker would add however, while he was keen to make a deal with Ngannou, his wants may be better suited to Showtimes boxing promotion, revealing he may have to forgo signing the 36-year-old due to the impracticality of the potential business deal.

“Anything can happen, but I’m not sure we’re gonna be in that business on the MMA side,” Coker continued. “Maybe on the boxing side, it might work out. To me it’s like, it has to be equitable for everybody, and that’s how I feel. We have a pretty robust purse amount every year, and we can spread that around, we can take a lot of that purse and pay our guys, and sign other fighters, and keep building divisions, right? So to me, I’d say it’s 50/50 at this point.” (H/T MMA Mania)

Scott Coker talks Francis Ngannou

How much is too much for Francis Ngannou?

Scott Coker Reveals Ideal Scenario For Francis Ngannou Bellator Signing

Bellator President Scott Coker has a plan to give Francis Ngannou a few items on his checklist if they were to agree on a deal. Ngannou remains a free agent after parting ways with the UFC earlier this year. He was stripped of the UFC heavyweight title…

Bellator President Scott Coker has a plan to give Francis Ngannou a few items on his checklist if they were to agree on a deal. Ngannou remains a free agent after parting ways with the UFC earlier this year. He was stripped of the UFC heavyweight title, which will now be contested between Ciryl Gane…

Continue Reading Scott Coker Reveals Ideal Scenario For Francis Ngannou Bellator Signing at MMA News.

Bellator CEO Scott Coker reveals detailed talks with Francis Ngannou

Scott Coker, Francis Ngannou, BellatorScott Coker recently shared the ongoing discussions with free agent Francis Ngannou.  Ngannou became a free agent after failed negotiations with the UFC in January. Now, the former UFC heavyweight champion is looking for a new home. Scott Coker and Francis Ngannou Have Been in Talks During Bellator fight week, Coker shared the details about […]

Scott Coker, Francis Ngannou, Bellator

Scott Coker recently shared the ongoing discussions with free agent Francis Ngannou. 

Ngannou became a free agent after failed negotiations with the UFC in January. Now, the former UFC heavyweight champion is looking for a new home.

Scott Coker and Francis Ngannou Have Been in Talks

During Bellator fight week, Coker shared the details about Bellator’s discussions with “The Predator”. He believes the MMA company can offer Ngannou the option to box with Showtime.

“From my perspective, then you talk about signing him to Bellator, we’re also talking about having a conversation with him and Stephen (Espinoza), which happened earlier this week, about getting into Showtime pay-per-view boxing too,” Coker said. “I think we have a great company to offer him both sides of the combat sports business that he would like to, which is fight MMA and also box. I think we’re a great fit. There’s ongoing discussions, so we’ll see what happens.” [h/t MMA Junkie]

The Cameroon native is 17-3 in his MMA career. 16 of his wins have been finishes. He last fought in January 2022 at UFC 270, where he successfully defended the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. Since then, he has been recovering from an MCL and ACL injury. 

Ngannou is the top free agent in the fight game. The 36-year-old has been in talks with several other companies, including the PFL and multiple boxing promotions. He has not revealed who he plans to sign with.

Scott Coker Gives Dillon Danis Ultimatum Regarding Bellator Future

Bellator President Scott Coker wants Dillon Danis to make a decision soon on whether or not he’s serious about fighting in MMA. Coker and Bellator are set to kick things off in 2023 with Bellator 290 this weekend, featuring a heavyweight title re…

Bellator President Scott Coker wants Dillon Danis to make a decision soon on whether or not he’s serious about fighting in MMA. Coker and Bellator are set to kick things off in 2023 with Bellator 290 this weekend, featuring a heavyweight title rematch between Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko. It is billed as Emelianenko’s final…

Continue Reading Scott Coker Gives Dillon Danis Ultimatum Regarding Bellator Future at MMA News.