Bellator General Discussion and Info

[REDDzone]

Almost all of all Strikeforce's cards were in Northern California. That is about as regional as it gets. He did some stuff well for sure, but that is mostly the stuff Bellator has also already done well. Coker wouldn't be awful or anything, but I think what he does best is not really needed. They need someone who can take them to the next level, and I don't see Coker as that guy.

I see your point but at the same time Coker is a much more likeable guy. Although Rebney ran a successful promotion he rubbed a lot of fighters the wrong way with his blatent favoritism and the way he seemed to changed the rules willy nilly. I'm not saying that being a nice guy will take them to the next level either but it will improve relations with fighters. For instance, Eddie Alvarez's departure was pretty much a sure thing once his next fight was over. Now with Coker Alvarez says that might not be the case after all. Does that mean Eddie Alvarez will 100% stay with Bellator? Of course not but it does improve their chances somewhat.

IDK man I think its a little hard to argue that Coker didn't show favoritism and change rules willy nilly. The dude was throwing around the idea of having Fedor RE-ENTER the tournament after he was eliminated in the first round.

[skflives]

IDK man I think its a little hard to argue that Coker didn't show favoritism and change rules willy nilly. The dude was throwing around the idea of having Fedor RE-ENTER the tournament after he was eliminated in the first round.

Well Fedor is Fedor. He was a living legend. But I see your point. I guess he was less douchey about it than Bjorn.

[REDDzone]

He is definitely a million times less abrasive than Bjorn.

[Cammo101]

Almost all of all Strikeforce's cards were in Northern California. That is about as regional as it gets. He did some stuff well for sure, but that is mostly the stuff Bellator has also already done well. Coker wouldn't be awful or anything, but I think what he does best is not really needed. They need someone who can take them to the next level, and I don't see Coker as that guy.

I see your point but at the same time Coker is a much more likeable guy. Although Rebney ran a successful promotion he rubbed a lot of fighters the wrong way with his blatent favoritism and the way he seemed to changed the rules willy nilly. I'm not saying that being a nice guy will take them to the next level either but it will improve relations with fighters. For instance, Eddie Alvarez's departure was pretty much a sure thing once his next fight was over. Now with Coker Alvarez says that might not be the case after all. Does that mean Eddie Alvarez will 100% stay with Bellator? Of course not but it does improve their chances somewhat.

I'm not advocating for Rebney to stay as much as I just think Coker is not a great fit.

[Cammo101]

IDK man I think its a little hard to argue that Coker didn't show favoritism and change rules willy nilly. The dude was throwing around the idea of having Fedor RE-ENTER the tournament after he was eliminated in the first round.

Well Fedor is Fedor. He was a living legend. But I see your point. I guess he was less douchey about it than Bjorn.

He also added Cormier to that same tournament when Fedor got hurt, even though there was already an alternate who had won the alternate fight. This is exactly what I'm getting at with Coker. He had a lot of the same amateur hour issues that Rebney did IMO.

[REDDzone]

He also added Cormier to that same tournament when Fedor got hurt, even though there was already an alternate who had won the alternate fight. This is exactly what I'm getting at with Coker. He had a lot of the same amateur hour issues that Rebney did IMO.

It really is amazing how incompetent some of these mma promoters can be. Hell I think the ufc makes a ton of mistakes tbh, but lucky for them their competitors are guys like Scott Coker.

[Cammo101]

He also added Cormier to that same tournament when Fedor got hurt, even though there was already an alternate who had won the alternate fight. This is exactly what I'm getting at with Coker. He had a lot of the same amateur hour issues that Rebney did IMO.

It really is amazing how incompetent some of these mma promoters can be. Hell I think the ufc makes a ton of mistakes tbh, but lucky for them their competitors are guys like Scott Coker.

The UFC is by and large really good at making most decisions and are usually pretty fair. They make the occasional short term money grab decision, but much less frequently and much less ridiculously than most other MMA orgs.

[skflives]

IDK man I think its a little hard to argue that Coker didn't show favoritism and change rules willy nilly. The dude was throwing around the idea of having Fedor RE-ENTER the tournament after he was eliminated in the first round.

Well Fedor is Fedor. He was a living legend. But I see your point. I guess he was less douchey about it than Bjorn.

He also added Cormier to that same tournament when Fedor got hurt, even though there was already an alternate who had won the alternate fight. This is exactly what I'm getting at with Coker. He had a lot of the same amateur hour issues that Rebney did IMO.

Yea. You know what...I completely forgot how much of a disaster that tournament was. On one side of the tournament you had the bracket of doom and on the other side you had the lets get Josh Barnett to the finals bracket. At least when Bjorn Rebney played favorites in the tournaments he set things up so the fight we all really want to see is almost a sure thing.

[Varejao17]

Very good card tomorrow! Koreshkov x McDonough, Baroni x Parisyan, McGeary x Valavicius, Anundson x Lins and some other good fights...

[Bernman]

It's a deep card, at least. Rare Bellator event that provides the full several hour MMA experience. I'm looking most forward to seeing Koreshkov-McDonough, McGeary, and Lins.

Hoping the McGeary and Lins trains stay on the tracks and collide like they were supposed to.

But whoever wins between Koreshkov and McDonough I'm fine with. I like both guy's styles and ability. Although McDonough is probably a better fit at 155. He's awfully small at 170. At 155 I think he could be among Bellator's top 10 caliber guys worldwide, i.e.: Chandler, Alvarez, and Brooks. Very sharp striker with solid wrestling.

[REDDzone]

It's a deep card, at least. Rare Bellator event that provides the full several hour MMA experience. I'm looking most forward to seeing Koreshkov-McDonough, McGeary, and Lins.

Hoping the McGeary and Lins trains stay on the tracks and collide like they were supposed to.

But whoever wins between Koreshkov and McDonough I'm fine with. I like both guy's styles and ability. Although McDonough is probably a better fit at 155. He's awfully small at 170. At 155 I think he could be among Bellator's top 10 caliber guys worldwide, i.e.: Chandler, Alvarez, and Brooks. Very sharp striker with solid wrestling.

I don't think I've seen you address the Rebney/Coker change. What are your thoughts?

[Bernman]

I'm disappointed about the move.

I think things will go smoother in the interim because of the honeymoon effect, and without the tournament we'll get some of the matches we've wanted to see for a while, plus better prelims due to that factor as well.

But over time I think Coker will run the promo into the ground or be forced to sell to Zuffa by taking away the tournament structure which made Bellator unique, and going more in the direction of preferring names to prospects like Viacom had already started to when Bellator moved to Spike.

Rebney may have even been a dick for a promoter, I'm not sure, but I think he was the smartest guy in the Bellator room by far, and hopefully after WSOF and BFC go under, he'll try again with more stable and supportive investors. He himself must have made good money out of the project between being a minority owner, president for several years, and likely receiving a sizable severance package. Maybe we see him parlay his relationship with ESPN to an MMA org being on their channel for the 1st time. Bellator was on ESPN Deportes, but I'm talking ESPN2 or something. That would help legitimize the sport, because ESPN is synonymous with sport in this country. But we've seen hot dog eating competitions on there before MMA.

[Jasen777]

ESPN is the big player that could shake MMA up, but I don't know if the UFC is doing well enough for Fox that they'd want to (plus I don't think they'd want to partner with a 2nd tier organization).

[Bernman]

You might be right, but Rebney's prospective new MMA organization could be more sports based than UFC as Bellator was giving them an angle which could appeal to ESPN, and they did host kickboxing back in the day. Like I said ESPN2 has aired hot dog eating comps, as well as strong man comps regularly. They aren't averse to niche interests.

[Varejao17]

Who should Manhoef fight first? A striker would be awesome...

[skflives]

But over time I think Coker will run the promo into the ground or be forced to sell to Zuffa by taking away the tournament structure which made Bellator unique, and going more in the direction of preferring names to prospects like Viacom had already started to when Bellator moved to Spike.

I agree. I think losing the tournaments was a mistake. It was the one aspect of Bellator that differentiated it from all other MMA promotions. Without the tournaments its just a bunch of non-UFC guys fighting each other with the occassional UFC has been thrown into the mix.

[kdawg32086]

LOL tuned into Bellator tonight and they've got Phil Baroni vs. Karo Parisyan... Nothing better than another fight between two guys who should already be retired.

[Cammo101]

LOL tuned into Bellator tonight and they've got Phil Baroni vs. Karo Parisyan... Nothing better than another fight between two guys who should already be retired.

So many good fighters in Bellator, yet they choose to features those two. Head scratching.

[Cammo101]

For those who have been waiting patiently for Joey Beltran to get a title shot, your wait is over.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/8/5/597 ... llator-124

[Bernman]

#Bjorn_was_Bellator's_Problem