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Five Ways Bellator MMA Could Surpass The UFC

While it’s going to take a ton of time and effort, there are some signs that Bellator MMA can even the playing field with the UFC in the sport of MMA. With signings such as Chael Sonnen, Ralek Gracie, Phil Davis and Rory MacDonald over the past 18-months, Bellator are growing in stature. Many don’t see

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While it’s going to take a ton of time and effort, there are some signs that Bellator MMA can even the playing field with the UFC in the sport of MMA.

With signings such as Chael Sonnen, Ralek Gracie, Phil Davis and Rory MacDonald over the past 18-months, Bellator are growing in stature.

Many don’t see a way for the UFC to drop off the #1 promotion spot, especially with the recent $4 billion purchase, but nothing lasts forever. And with fighters speaking out against the world’s biggest MMA promotion left and right, now is the time for Bellator to truly make a move.

Here are five reasons they just may be able to surpass the UFC one day:

5. Viacom’s financial & media power:

As mentioned, the UFC was recently sold for $4.2 billion. It may come as a surprise to some, but Bellator’s owners, Viacom, have a massive finance advantage over the UFC’s new owners, WME/IMG.

Viacom’s profit alone in 2013 was close to $2.5 billion, yes, profit. Bellator has the financial backing that no other MMA company in history has had to go against the UFC. There has been rumors of a Viacom/CBS merger, which could see Bellator’s exposure increase even more with more TV networks and media outlets available to them.

With the right backing from it’s owners, Bellator has the financial and media power to dwarf the UFC. If the mentioned merger happened, we could see shows on Showtime, the former Strikeforce broadcaster.

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Jerry “The King” Lawler: Scott Coker Reminds Me So Much Of Vince McMahon

WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler has been involved in helping promote this weekend’s Bellator 162 event in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, including hosting fight week activities at his restaurant, “King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar…

On Monday, “The King” joined Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com to talk about his involvement with the show. During the interview, Lawler shared his opinion regarding Bellator MMA President Scott Coker being similar to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

“Scott Coker, the President of Bellator MMA reminds me so much of Vince McMahon, especially with the new signings,” Lawler said. “We had the brand split, and are calling it a new era, bringing in young guys and new women from NXT, the new training facility. All these guys are making that jump. It’s the same thing with Bellator MMA. A ton of new guys have been signed by Scott Coker. It reminds me so much of the same type of building things up and the enthusiasm we have in WWE.”

Additionally, “The King” revealed that when he sits cage-side at the Bellator 162 event in Memphis this weekend, it will be the first time he has done so for an MMA event.

“Well, I’m definitely going to be there cage side. I’ve told everyone I’ve been ringside for a million wrestling matches but I’ve never been up close and personal cage side at an MMA show.”

Bellator 162 takes place later this evening from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee and airs live on Spike TV.

Scott Coker Elaborates On Talks With Ryback, Comments On CM Punk’s Future In MMA

As noted, former WWE Superstar Ryback (Ryan Reeves) revealed during a recent Las Vegas-based radio interview that he is considering moving over to the MMA world if he can secure a deal that would satisfy him on a financial level, noting that he has already gone as far as to reach out to Bellator MMA about potential interest in his services. Soon after his interview, Bellator MMA President Scott Coker confirmed the rumors to MMA reporter Dave Meltzer, and now he’s back with more.

On the latest edition of former WCW (World Championship Wrestling) Executive Vice President and former WWE on-air performer Eric Bischoff’s official podcast, Coker was interviewed and elaborated on his recent meeting with the former WWE star who has been using his nickname “The Big Guy” while making appearances at smaller pro wrestling shows since parting ways with WWE.

As the current Bellator MMA promoter pointed out during his appearance on the podcast, the talks with Ryback haven’t gone that far and aren’t exactly promising due to the lack of experience on any kind of competitive level that the pro wrestler has in any form of combat sports.

“I can comment on it and really it’s a very short conversation because their management did reach out. We had a very brief conversation. I’m not sure where it’s at but I don’t think it went very far. If they don’t have some type of background in either jiu-jitsu or collegiate wrestling or tai boxing or a combat sports background… it’s tough for them. It’s like someone from a martial arts background trying to be a pro wrestler. If you’re not schooled and don’t go through the education process of how to do it then you’re going to have a hard time. I think that’s what you saw with the CM Punk situation.”

As he continued, Coker spoke further about the comparison he drew between Ryback and CM Punk, who coincidentally enough have somewhat of a storied history of legitimate beef with each other dating back to issues they had working together while they were both in WWE. As Coker spoke further on the topic of Ryback and Punk, he also addressed the recent comments made by UFC President Dana White regarding his opinion that if Punk does indeed continue to fight in MMA after his devastating one-sided loss to rookie MMA prospect Mickey Gall as he claimed he would during multiple post-fight interviews after his quick submission defeat at last month’s UFC 203 pay-per-view, he shouldn’t expect to do so on a level as big as the UFC this early into his foray into the sport.

“I think he’s in a tough situation. He fought on a pretty big card and fought a pretty tough kid. It’s back to the drawing board in my opinion. He’s going to have to go back and really think about whether he wants to continue fighting. If he does he’s got to stay at Duke’s gym and keep training. Maybe another year from now or eighteen months from now he can try it again. To think it’s going to be any other outcome fighting a guy of that caliber in any league I think is irresponsible.”

To listen to the complete Scott Coker interview from Eric Bischoff’s podcast from Wednesday afternoon, use the media player below or download the episode by going to AudioBoom.com.

H/T to Raj Giri of WrestlingINC.com for transcribing the above Scott Coker quotes from his appearance on the “Bischoff On Wrestling” podcast.

“I can comment on it and really it’s a very short conversation because their management did reach out. We had a very brief conversation. I’m not sure where it’s at but I don’t think it went very far. If they don’t have some type of background in either jiu-jitsu or collegiate wrestling or tai boxing or a combat sports background… it’s tough for them. It’s like someone from a martial arts background trying to be a pro wrestler. If you’re not schooled and don’t go through the education process of how to do it then you’re going to have a hard time. I think that’s what you saw with the CM Punk situation.”

“I think he’s in a tough situation. He fought on a pretty big card and fought a pretty tough kid. It’s back to the drawing board in my opinion. He’s going to have to go back and really think about whether he wants to continue fighting. If he does he’s got to stay at Duke’s gym and keep training. Maybe another year from now or eighteen months from now he can try it again. To think it’s going to be any other outcome fighting a guy of that caliber in any league I think is irresponsible.”

To listen to the complete Scott Coker interview from Eric Bischoff’s podcast from Wednesday afternoon, use the media player below or download the episode by going to AudioBoom.com.

H/T to Raj Giri of WrestlingINC.com for transcribing the above Scott Coker quotes from his appearance on the “Bischoff On Wrestling” podcast.

Scott Coker Confirms Bellator In Talks With Ryback: How Serious Are Negotiations?

As noted earlier this week, former WWE Superstar Ryback has expressed interest in transitioning into the MMA world, as he claimed he has been in talks with the Bellator MMA promotion in recent weeks.

Ryback, who has been using the name “The Big Guy”…

As noted earlier this week, former WWE Superstar Ryback has expressed interest in transitioning into the MMA world, as he claimed he has been in talks with the Bellator MMA promotion in recent weeks.

Ryback, who has been using the name “The Big Guy” (his WWE nickname) since parting ways with the company earlier this year, spoke about his interest in pursuing an MMA career during a Las Vegas radio interview on Monday.

Following the initial report, MMAFighting.com reporter and Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer recently provided an update, as he noted that Bellator MMA President Scott Coker confirmed to him that he has been in talks with Ryback in recent weeks. It’s worth noting, however, that Coker pointed out that “nothing is even close to being signed” at this point.

As far as the motivation for the 35-year-old pro wrestler to want to fight professionally all of a sudden, he made it clear that the decision will come down to dollars and cents, and isn’t a passion-project like CM Punk — coincidentally enough someone he has had documented issues with in the past — recently scratched off his bucket list.

Chael Sonnen ‘Pissed Off’ By UFC ‘Money Fight’ Trend

When Chael Sonnen was enjoying life as one of mixed martial arts’ most prominent stars, the term ‘money fight’ was an unused label. The multi-time UFC title challenger has just finished serving out a two-year suspension handed down from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), and it’s safe to say that the current state of

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Sonnen shockingly announced last week that he would be coming out of retirement and that he had signed with Bellator MMA. Speaking on a conference call late last week, he said that he was making his return because he was angry at the current landscape of MMA. “The American Gangster” doesn’t seem to like the idea of ‘money fights’, saying that combatants either want to fight or they don’t:

“You either want to fight or you don’t, and one of my main motivations for coming back is pure anger,” Sonnen said. “I sit back as a fan, I watch these guys quibble and squabble. I put this deal together with Coker over three phone calls. I didn’t negotiate. I didn’t ask for anything. I wanted an opportunity to fight, that was it. And he’ll tell you the same thing. It was as simple as that.”

“I am legitimately pissed off as a fan when I sit and read about guys who will only do this for ‘x’ amount of money, and everybody needs to be bribed. They need this big carrot dangled in front of their face. It comes back to the Olympic spirit. It comes back to ‘let’s get that world championship.’”

At the end of the day, Sonnen simply said that he wants to fight:

“Do you want to do it or not? And the right guy, the best guy, every time says yes. And (number) three and four and five can go and do all these pity parties and come up with all of these reasons why they don’t want to jump and fight. I’m not one of those guys. I want to do it.”

“The American Gangster” last competed in 2013, suffering a brutal stoppage loss to Rashad Evans. His Bellator debut has not been set, but he has showed interest in fighting former UFC titleholder Tito Ortiz in November.

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Scott Coker: Chael Sonnen Could Fight Fedor, Wanderlei, Ortiz & Rory MacDonald

As noted, former UFC title contender and ESPN analyst Chael Sonnen has parted ways with the UFC and has signed to return to fight for Bellator MMA.

In a release put out by Bellator MMA this week, Scott Coker commented on the promotion signing th…

As noted, former UFC title contender and ESPN analyst Chael Sonnen has parted ways with the UFC and has signed to return to fight for Bellator MMA.

In a release put out by Bellator MMA this week, Scott Coker commented on the promotion signing the gangster from the mean streets of West Linn, Oregon.

“Chael is an incredible athlete that has competed at the very highest levels of the sport,” said the Bellator MMA President “I know that he is going to continue to do just that here at Bellator. When we were in the process of signing him, Chael was adamant that he wants to compete in three divisions here.”

Regarding his return to active competition inside the cage, Coker claims there are fights he is interested in making for “The Bad Guy.” As far as opponents are concerned, Coker mentioned such names as Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz and even Rory MacDonald, claiming he could see Sonnen fighting anywhere from the Middleweight to Heavyweight divisions.

“He already has unfinished business with Wanderlei Silva, but he also wants to fight guys like Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emelianenko and even Rory MacDonald at middleweight,” said Coker. “These are all fights that I’d be very inclined to watch, so hopefully we can put some, if not all of these matchups together starting before the end of the year.”

The last time that Sonnen competed in a professional MMA bout was at the UFC 167 pay-per-view event in November of 2013, where he lost to former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans via first-round technical knockout.

Sonnen was scheduled to fight rival Wanderlei Silva in the finals after the season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil reality show that was airing on UFC Fight Pass and on television in Brazil,, however when tested by USADA, who was just starting to implement the new policy adopted by the UFC, his results came back positive.

The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title contender ended up receiving a lengthy suspension and would go on to announce his retirement from MMA. He transitioned into an analyst role at ESPN, launched his weekly “You’re Welcome” podcast at PodcastOne.com and competed in various grappling tournaments.

While nothing has been announced yet regarding when and where Sonnen will return to the cage, it has been said that he will be making his pro fighting return inside the Bellator MMA Cage before the end of the year.