Coker: I want Bellator to be like PRIDE, but better
Scott Coker: “I want it to be like Pride, only better. That’s the goal. The tentpole events are a massive jump from the shows Bellator was creating a year ago.”
Before Bellator CEO Scott Coker ever promoted a single MMA fight, he learned his craft as the USA rep for K-1, from founder Kazuyoshi Ishii. Coker knows what he what he wants his company to be.
“I want it to be like Pride, only better,” he said to Dave Meltzer for MMAFighting.com.
“That’s the goal. The tentpole events are a massive jump from the shows Bellator was creating a year ago. This is to be a once-a-year extravaganza with kickboxing and MMA. This will take Bellator’s production, viewership and attendance hopefully to a different level
K-1 and PRIDE worked together, on the first ‘Dynamite’ show, in 2002. It attracted 71,000 fans, the most people to ever attend an MMA show, anywhere, ever. New Years Eve in Japan is television night, and for years, the most watched MMA shows were NYE events from Japan. K-1 called theirs ‘Dynamite’.
Scott wants to start a new tradition on Saturday night, with Bellator: Dynamite.
The 20 fight card includes an eight-fight main card that starts at 9:00 p.m. and airs live on Spike. Side by side will be a GLORY kickboxing ring and the Bellator cage. There will be a four-man, one-fight tournament to determine the next challenger for the light heavyweight title. That winner will fight the winner of current champion Liam McGeary vs. Tito Ortiz.
The hardcore fanbase knows what to expect: The opening ceremony with all fighters; big production entrances; and even the voice of Lenne Hardt.
“She’s going to introduce the fighters from the stage, like in Japan,” said Coker. “If you remember Japan, they also had a different ring announcer in the ring.”
Coker does not so much hope to beat the UFC, as to be different.
“Why can’t we be different?” Coker asked. “It’s good to be different. To me, we’re trying to appeal to the overall fan of fighting. If you’re a fan of MMA, tune in. If you’re a fan of kickboxing, tune in. If you’re a fan of martial arts, tune in.
“This is going to be our biggest showcase. From everything I’ve been hearing, the production is going to be amazing. It’s going to look different and feel different.”
It has been 15 months since Coker replace league founder Bjorn Rebney. Since then live attendance is up 72%, and 42% in head to head arena matchups. This summer’s television ratings are up 34%. Tito vs. Stephan Bonnar broke the league’s viewership record, and then Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice broke it again.
“I would like to hit a (ratings) peak of 3 million,” said Coker. “I’d like to have 12,000 in the building. That would be a great victory. But it’s just great to be back here promoting. We’re so thankful for the people in this market supporting us for 25 to 30 years. I think we’ve proven we can be ultra-successful in the Bay Area. We’re going to continue to promote here and keep building Bellator here.”
Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the promoter of Pride at its peak, will be in the audience. Sakakibara is looking to revive MMA in Japan. Maybe is looking to see how it is done …
