As you know by now, Bellator MMA has a new sheriff in town. He’s a familiar face to MMA fans, the former head of Strikeforce, Scott Coker. Fans and fighters alike unanimously celebrated the shift from former Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney to Coker. But the honeymoon phase is over, and the MMA community is questioning Coker’s Rebney-esque signing of UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar. Don’t worry everyone. This time, it’s different.
As the head of Bellator, Rebney made a big splash in June of 2013, when he signed former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, and a second one nine weeks later, when he signed another former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and UFC Hall of Famer, Tito Ortiz. Rebney’s plan was to make Jackson and Ortiz two of the main faces of Bellator MMA. There was one major problem with Rebney’s plan though. Actually, there were 72 problems.
At the time of their signings, Jackson and Ortiz were 34 and 38, respectively. Rebney wanted two fighters, whose combined age was 72, to carry his promotion into the future. Jackson had already flirted with retirement multiple times in the past, and Ortiz actually ended a year-long retirement to sign with Bellator. To put it into perspective, arguably the top two faces of the UFC right now, Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, are both just 27.
Unless your name is Randy Couture, there’s a strong chance you won’t be having success in MMA once you enter your mid- to late forties. And that was the case with Jackson and Ortiz. Leading up to their signings, both were on losing streaks. Jackson had lost three in a row, and Ortiz had lost six of his last seven. Both were seen by the public as past their prime and over the hill, but Rebney saw two of the biggest names in the sport, and with dollar signs in his eyes, he snatched them up.
They were set to meet in November of 2013, but Ortiz got hurt, and the bout never came to fruition. Since that time, Jackson has squashed overmatched competition in Joey Beltran and Christian M’Pumbu in a round apiece, and won a highly debatable decision against Muhammad Lawal in May of 2014. On that same card in May, Ortiz finally made his promotional debut, submitting Bellator Middleweight Champion Alexander Shlemenko in the first round.
To this point, both men have done more harm than good. Jackson earned a title shot that he refuses to accept when he defeated Lawal, and Ortiz annihilated one of Bellator’s champions in a non-title fight.
And now, here comes Coker, set to lead Bellator to the promise land, or so we thought, until the moment he signed Bonnar. But Coker is different, and the signing of Bonnar will actually be used for the good of Bellator, not for its detriment.
Bonnar was the runner-up on the original season of The Ultimate Fighter, which ran on Bellator’s current home, Spike TV. He’s a big name in the sport, and will surely draw eyeballs to the Bellator product. So, what’s the difference between Bonnar, and Jackson and Ortiz? Nothing. Bonnar is currently 37, coming off a loss and retirement that lasted just shy of two years. But the difference between the fighters isn’t the difference that matters.
Coker isn’t going to try and make Bonnar the face of Bellator. He’s going to use Bonnar to promote Bellator’s up-and-coming young stars. He’ll put Bonnar, who is already heavily rumored to be squaring off with Ortiz in his first fight for the promotion, in the main event most likely, but unlike Rebney, he’ll litter the undercard with potential future stars, like Michael Page or Bubba Jenkins or Darrion Caldwell. Bellator’s bigger names, who just need a slight push, like interim Lightweight Champion Will Brooks or Heavyweight Champion Vitaly Minakov, could have title fights alongside Bonnar, using his name recognition to attract more viewers, and their fighting skills to make them come back for their next fight.
Coker is great at building up prospects, as evidenced by his track record with Strikeforce. The two main-eventers of this Friday’s UFC card, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and Gegard Mousasi, are both former Strikeforce title holders. So is Alistair Overeem, who fights in the co-main event. Top middleweight contenders Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy, top welterweight contenders Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine, and number one lightweight contender Gilbert Melendez are all former Strikeforce title holders or challengers. These men honed their craft and rose to prominence in Strikeforce, and all are now top five fighters in their respective weight classes inside the UFC. Coker will build prospects, that much is clear. The talent is already there in Bellator, and he’s the right man to turn these coals into diamonds.
As Stephan Bonnar exits the prime of this career, he and Scott Coker will be there, hand in hand, to help usher Bellator MMA into theirs.
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