“Martial arts is self-growth. It’s artistic impression. It’s self-defense… it doesn’t have any place in politics.”
― Scott Coker
“We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.”
― Scott Coker
“One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.”
― Scott Coker
“I love big events. It reminds me of the old days, when I knew everyone on the fight card, and it wasn’t just one fight.”
― Scott Coker
“MMA has a great safety record. I was always confused as to why it was illegal in New York in the first place.”
― Scott Coker
“My background in promoting martial arts started in 1985 when we were doing PK Karate, which was on ESPN. Fast forward to when mixed martial arts became legal in California. I made the jump to MMA and never looked back.”
― Scott Coker
“When I think about the skill level of Andrey Koreshkov, he is at the top of his game and at an elite level.”
― Scott Coker
“I always love meeting other promoters.”
― Scott Coker
“I grew up as a martial artist, and I’m still a martial artist at heart.”
― Scott Coker
“All my fighters know I’m a fan of theirs. They know I think of them as the stars and that we will facilitate in the building of their stock.”
― Scott Coker
“When I first came to Bellator, I wanted to take it back to what we accomplished at Strikeforce and look at the next generation. So we signed the Aaron Picos of the world and put them in our development programme to nurture them.”
― Scott Coker
“Great fights means great TV ratings.”
― Scott Coker
“Sport is made to be live. You can’t watch something three hours later already knowing the results; it’s not the same experience.”
― Scott Coker
“I think boxing is on the rise because of what Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor did. I think they captured the time and made boxing cool again.”
― Scott Coker
“I think the MMA and boxing are different audiences. I think it’s a different intrigue. There’s no reason you can’t be a fan of both; why does it have to be one or the other?”
― Scott Coker
“Martial arts is something I studied since I was 6 years old.”
― Scott Coker
“I’ve taught martial arts to many children, from 5 years old and up – there’s character development, there’s respect, discipline, perseverance.”
― Scott Coker
“To say martial arts, or the combative form – mixed martial arts – is not an art form is incorrect.”
― Scott Coker
“I don’t think that 25-year-olds should be fighting 40-year-olds.”
― Scott Coker
“You get a world-class athlete like Hershel Walker, who was a Heisman trophy winner and did some amazing things, but he had a martial arts background. He did kickboxing. He had a combat sports background. It was just rekindling that training and that martial arts workout ethic. He got back into it and did quite well.”
― Scott Coker
“You can’t put an age on power.”
― Scott Coker
“A lot of fighters want that freedom to have their own sponsorships. When you think about it, how do you make independent contractors wear a uniform? That just seems strange to me.”
― Scott Coker
“I’m not a union guy in the sense that I know a lot about how they operate. But I know fighters. They are individual athletes. This is not a team sport. I think it’s going to be hard to say, ‘Hey, do you mind not fighting on Saturday and walking around the arena with a picket sign instead?’ I just don’t see it.”
― Scott Coker
“I’m not thinking of any other leagues. I’m really not. I’m thinking of what can I do to move Bellator forward. I’m thinking of what we need to fix, what fighters we should sign, where we can expand internationally.”
― Scott Coker
“You can only control your own destiny.”
― Scott Coker
“I worked for a Japanese company called K1 for a while.”
― Scott Coker
“I used to go to fights in Japan, mega shows at soccer stadiums. They would have all kinds of martial arts fights in one night.”
― Scott Coker
“I thought, ‘If I can create a business to promote martial arts, that’d sure be a lot of fun.’”
― Scott Coker
“When I was a kid, there were probably 100 schools in the Bay Area that just did martial arts.”
― Scott Coker
“I would say, look, any fighter that’s out there or any star athlete – not star athlete in the sense of a baseball player, but like a Brock Lesnar – that really wants to fight, we’re going to have a conversation with them. Because if they can move the needle, we’re going to want them on Spike TV.”
― Scott Coker
“In my years of doing the K1 fights, one thing I’ve learned is that the guys who you think will be there in the end – very rarely do you get the match up you were hoping for.”
― Scott Coker
“I buy the UFC pay-per-views that are on OnDemand, DirectTV, and DISH. As far as quality, come on. These are the best heavyweights in the world. I think everybody knows that.”
― Scott Coker
“I think I’m going to be a juggler when I retire from the promotion business one day.”
― Scott Coker
“If the fighter doesn’t want to fight, you’re not gonna want him to fight. If the fighter doesn’t want to fight, the promoter doesn’t make him fight. And if he wants to retire, then it’s time to walk away.”
― Scott Coker
“Hugh Hefner represented pop culture in a way that no else could.”
― Scott Coker
“Bellator has the best welterweight fighters in the world.”
― Scott Coker
“MMA fans should thank Spike TV for their commitment to the sport.”
― Scott Coker
“Let’s go back to super-fights. Let’s put on fights that are great live or on television.”
― Scott Coker
“If a legend fight comes up, or if a fun fight comes up that makes sense, and the fans want to see it, then we’re going to do it. We’re not going to be afraid to do those fights.”
― Scott Coker
“It’s good to team up with Spike and Viacom. I see a lot of potential.”
― Scott Coker
“The experience I’ve had with Strikeforce kickboxing, K1, Strikeforce MMA, working with ESPN, working with Showtime, working with Japanese television, working with fighter camps from all over the world has given me a unique perspective.”
― Scott Coker
“In Strikeforce, we’re committed to putting on the best fights that we can.”
― Scott Coker
“I’d like to see Melvin Manhoef fight Robbie Lawler.”
― Scott Coker
“As a martial arts promoter and as a fan of martial arts, you go, ‘What would happen if this guy fought this guy?’”
― Scott Coker
“Marloes Coenen is the real deal.”
― Scott Coker
“We have a zero tolerance policy here at Bellator when it relates to any form of domestic violence.”
― Scott Coker
“Tournaments, traditionally, are kind of the way martial arts contests happen.”
― Scott Coker
“When you think about mixed martial arts, you have to think about the entire scope of the athlete.”
― Scott Coker
“When you think about martial arts here in the states, kickboxing was here in the ’70s, and it kind of ran its course. But I always felt there was a place in combat sports for kickboxing.”
― Scott Coker
“If you look at Germany and France, a couple other countries, those are really kickboxing markets.”
― Scott Coker
“Whereas there’s more of a learning curb with MMA, kickboxing is pretty easy to understand and has no geographical boundaries.”
― Scott Coker
“The welterweight division has really emerged as one of our most exciting weight classes.”
― Scott Coker
“At the end of the day, it’s a business about fighters and a business about people. This is our philosophy.”
― Scott Coker
“We’ve always looked for guys and girls who have striking ability… there’s a reason my past company was called Strikeforce.”
― Scott Coker
“MMA has evolved. When you look at an MMA fighter’s skill set, boxing has to be a big piece of it. All of them have a boxing coach now and strive to have a good stand-up game, knowing that to be a complete fighter, you have to tend to your striking skills.”
― Scott Coker
“That’s the thing about the fight business is that you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
― Scott Coker
“We’re not going to do monthly pay-per-view just to do pay-per-views. We’re going to build up to big fights more like the boxing model, and when the time is right, we’ll do the big, big fights.”
― Scott Coker
“I’m excited to see Jake Hager debut for Bellator in 2018. When I heard he was seriously interested in competing in MMA, and when you look at what he did at the collegiate level, I was very interested in having him on our roster.”
― Scott Coker
“Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo are two of the best in our business, and I couldn’t be happier about them joining the Bellator family.”
― Scott Coker
“We want Bellator to be a destination for not only the top-tier fighters in the sport, but the first-choice destination for fans to see the most entertaining fights in the sport.”
― Scott Coker
“It’s not every day you are able to sign a top-10 athlete, let alone two in the same week.”
― Scott Coker
“Spike is an entertainment company. So why not have entertaining fights when you can do them?”
― Scott Coker
“There are a lot of details you have to work out when you’re talking about fighters competing twice in one night.”
― Scott Coker
“Sometimes the fighter or an athlete feels they’re valued a certain price, and sometimes we don’t feel that way.”
― Scott Coker
“Our sport has great fighters and great fans. And the fans really get to connect to those fighters.”
― Scott Coker
“Strikeforce is here to stay; we are definitely going to do our part to grow the sport and be good ambassadors of the sport.”
― Scott Coker
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