Scott Coker’s vision for Bellator MMA began to take shape in 2016.
Since the former Strikeforce promoter took over Bellator midway through 2014, he’s been repeating his planned strategy: build future stars from the bottom up and sign key free agents who will come in, draw right away and be among the best fighters in the world in their respective weight classes.
In 2015 and early this year, Coker and matchmaker Rich Chou had to bridge the gap by signing aging stars from MMA days gone by, the likes of Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie and Kimbo Slice (who tragically died in June), and putting them in headliner roles.