When was the last time the UFC was really competed against? Would anyone say Pride? Sure, because Zuffa purchased it. Strikeforce? Absolutely, because Zuffa bought it. It’s the same concept in the 1980’s and 1990’s when Vince McMahon and the WWE were purchasing all of the regional wrestling promotions. They wanted exactly what Dana White, the Fertitta brothers, and Zuffa want, money and control. Not that is necessarily a bad thing, a monopoly over the sport can bring the best in the world under one flag. Look at Pro football and basketball, there are no other promotions that compete on their level and the profits, especially in the USA, are tremendous.
So, the UFC is bringing in the biggest ratings, holds a steady PPV market, and already has most of the best fighters in the world. Where does that leave promotions like Bellator, World Series of Fighting, or OneFC? In the position to go for broke, change the landscape and introduce a new concept. The last promotion to gain any big attention in recent memory was Strikeforce and the Heavyweight Grand Prix which started out very promising and slightly fell apart in the middle. This format needs to make a comeback and Bellator is the right place for it to occur.
Whats Next for Bellator?
The biggest move that Bellator has made is the recent signing of Scott Coker, former front man for Strikeforce before it was purchased by Zuffa, and the termination of Bjorn Rebney. Coker knows how to run a company and did very well bringing Strikeforce up from nothing and grabbing a deal with Showtime. This was done by having a star studded roster and a separate “league” in the Challengers series to introduce the younger fighters to the spotlight. His matchmaking wasn’t always perfect but it always made good sales and the company thrived during most periods.
However, he was up against the machine in the UFC and knew he had to make an attempt to sway some fans his way. Seeing that the UFC Heavyweight division was struggling, Coker decided to bring in the biggest names outside the heavyweight division. Alistair Overeem, then Strikeforce champ, Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Silva, Sergei Kharitonov, Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett and Brett Rogers. A real who’s who of the heavyweights at the time and we all got to see them face off to be the new champion and possibly the best in the world. This grand prix garnered so much steam with the potential to finally see Fedor take on Overeem and even eventually take on Josh Barnett, which had been scheduled for the defunct Affliction promotion. These matchups and potential clashes drew huge attention from fans of MMA all around and it showed as well. Showtime had some big ratings during that time, mostly just the first round, and although the tournament didn’t play out the way everyone had intended, it still put out some big names into the market.
Scott Coker has been very successful in his time with Showtime and Strikeforce, but he was faced with going head to head with the UFC on PPV and having to only gain fans if they purchased the Showtime package on most cable and satellite setups. The UFC holds the PPV market easily with its long tenure there and of course most fans have cable or satellite. This is where Coker and Bellator can make their start. Bring in a Grand Prix of each division once a year and hold the finals on a PPV. This will bring the viewers to need to see the conclusions of their favorite fighters and also sets Bellator up for around 6 to 8 PPV’s a year, good for a growing company that is competing with the UFC. However, there is just not enough star power in Bellator as is now so some cuts and new signings need to be made. Strikeforce did well with building up new names and also bringing in some legends to fill up the cards, but aging UFC veterans and newly professional fighters aren’t going to fill seats. This is where the big opportunity comes in to bring in a new set of fans as well as encouraging PPV buys with existing fans. A partnership with World Series of Fighting or OneFC.
Both promotions have proven that they can sign names that draw attention, but neither have the real money to back them. Viacom, owners of Spike TV, is the funds backing Bellator, this actually makes them the “biggest” MMA promotion in the world. With the financial support there, a new deal that would allow fighters from another promotion to take place in Grand Prix’s and PPV’s as well as sending their own fighters to the other promotion’s main cards will create enough buzz to at least draw in fans for the first few shows.
Obviously we all know MMA is unpredictable and the first few outing could be underwhelming, see UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs Dos Santos, but true fans that spend the money every month will see the upside. Coker realizes that he must sway the UFC fans at least 3 or 4 times in a year to purchase Bellator PPV’s rather than UFC PPV’s. This is how the Grand Prix, which would prove which fighters are the best outside of UFC.
Bellator sees its chance in the spotlight and in removing the old corporate guys, and Bjorn Rebney, they have made their stake in the long game. Scott Coker. This has all the workings of a real “ratings war” which just screams Pro Wrestling, but look at the ratings of that era for WWF and WCW, higher than any other time. Bellator has the opportunity here to make a historical mark in MMA lineage and do so with a pocket full of money taken straight from Uncle Dana.
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