Advertisement

Bellator MMA chief Scott Coker targets dream events on naval aircraft carrier and at Coliseum and floats MMA/boxing link up with Eddie Hearn on DAZN streaming service

Bellator featherweight champion flanked by MMA legends Fedor Emilianenko and Royce Gracie with CEO Scott Coker    - Lucas Noonan/Bellator
Bellator featherweight champion flanked by MMA legends Fedor Emilianenko and Royce Gracie with CEO Scott Coker - Lucas Noonan/Bellator

On a sweltering night in Rome, Alessio Sakara brought the house down under the night sky in the open air at the Foro Italico - the venue synonymous with the ITF Italian Tennis Open - with a victory over British light heavyweight Jamie Sloane. 

The pair of 205-pounders went at it wildly from the start, falling from striking into the clinch, until Sakara felled his foe and ground and pound his way to victory as the roars were raised into the night sky.  The adoration of Sakara from the Italian audience similar in intensity if not on the grand scale of that enjoyed by Conor McGregor from the Irish fans.

The victory was an important one not just for the most prominent mixed martial artist in Italy, but for the Bellator fight league as their ambitious expansion plans in Europe include - aside from a six-event series in the UK over the next year - an attempt to promote a night inside the historic 2000 year old Coliseum in 2019.

“It was really good in here," Scott Coker, CEO of Bellator told The Telegraph. "I haven’t done an outdoor fight since we done a fight at the Playboy Mansion in 2007. There’s something about being outdoors, it remains me of the Hearns and Leonard fights. Today was a great day. I think we saw some great talent in kickboxing and MMA. Sakara is a big star here."

"Pitbull delivered once again," said Coker of the fight league's defending 145lb champion. "I didn’t think it was a split decision, I think 'Pitbull' clearly won the fight. To see some of the local kids and fighters… three years ago there was no MMA in this country. To be honest the level was quite low, but now after three years I can see the growth in the the country, the market and the talent. We’re making an impact in this country at a talent level.”

Indeed, Pitbull - the 31-year-old Brazilian Patricio Friere - put in a composed, clinical and champion-like defence of the Bellator featherweight title against a very motivated, tough challenger in Daniel Weichel of Germany.

The Italian crowd were restless in the opening round as the Brazilian took his time to get inside the defences of the taller man who was rematching the Brazilian having lost to him in another title fight three years ago.

But once he got to work, he showed his class in all areas.

Bizarrely, one of the three judges did deem Weichel the winner by 3 rounds to two, though ‘Pitbull’ had clearly won it either 3-2 or 4-1, in rounds, reflected on the other two judges’ scorecards, with the German fighter having his best moments in the opening round, and in the last, when he defiantly looked for a finish himself after having been out-struck and outwrestled by the classy skills of the Brazilian from the seaside city of Natal.      

“Three years ago, there was little or no MMA here of any real level, it was pretty amateurish, but this event really showed that standards are rising,” explained Coker, who revealed to The Telegraph that as a promoter, there are two burning ambitions that he will pursue like his roster of fighters pursue victory in the combat arena. 

“This has been a dream for the last 20 years. These are the two fights I have to do: One in the Coliseum and a USO show for troops on a carrier deck. This is the closest we’ve ever been to getting the Coliseum and now the city is now inviting us, I’m excited to come back for the site survey.”

As for the aircraft carrier event, Coker added: “The cage would be on the deck. All the sailors in their outfits and do the fight on the deck. That and the Coliseum are the Mecca.”

Russian welterweight Andrey Koreshkov, the former Bellator champion at 170lbs, looked devastating once more, finishing Montenegrin Vaso Bakocevic with a pinpoint spinning back kick to the liver to crumple his foe, and announce himself as a genuine contender to claim the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix tournament which begins on Sept 29.

As a twist, Koreshkov’s team-mate Aexandr Shlemenko - who gave Gegard Mousasi such a torrid fight in his Bellator debut at middleweight in Connecticut in October last year - has requested that he drop to welterweight and be included in the tournament.

“This guy is so talented," said Coker of Koreshkov. "On any given day he could beat anybody. He’s got better and better and he looked fantastic tonight. The kid he fought was a power punch that could knock you out with one punch. He fought like a psychopath. When I think about the skill level of Andrey Koreshkov, he is at the top of his game and at an elite level. We’ve got the best welterweights in the world, hands down.”

And what of Shlemenko, viable as a welterweight... ? “I would say he could be a contender, but who is he going to fight -- Koreshkov? That came out of left field for me because I always thought he was a middleweight," added Coker. " But it shows the excitement of this tournament. For Shlemenko to say he wants to be in a tournament where his team-mate will be competing, it says a lot.” 

Time will tell on that one. How would the Grand Prix fare if two team-mates had to fight, or even meet in the final ? 

Coker - along with British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn - will be in New York on Tuesday to unveil upcoming launch plans with OTT sports streaming service DAZN as Anthony Joshua takes his bow on the digital platform for the USA market on September 22, against Alexander Povetkin, and a week later, Bellator begin their deal with the company owned by British billionaire Sir Len Blavatnik in San Jose with the superfight between now middleweight champion Mousasi and 170lb king Rory MacDonald. 

“On Tuesday we are having a press function in New York with DAZN along with (Eddie) Hearn. They’ll talk about the boxing and we’ll talk about MMA. We’re going to talk about the welterweight tournament and announce the brackets. We’re also going to announce the first competitors fighting on September 29."

"So, there'll be a lot of information released. We’ll have some fighters there and invite some of our top Bellator fighters there. It’s my first time meeting Eddie Hearn. I always love meeting other promoters. We’ll do some fun stuff together in the future.”

Back to the open air arena, it was Sakara who composed after winning. He used his hands to silence the crowd after the victory, and as they paused for him, he conducted a huge cheer from them with his hands. The empire that once created and drew gladiators for combat and entertainment, is certainly beginning its symphony in MMA major. 

For Sakara, with heavy hands with ropes tattooed on them, in respect for the gladiators and soldiers of Rome, it was a fait accompli. His heavy hands certainly did the work here. Now Bellator - and Coker - will do their utmost to stand inside the great Roman monument next year and utter those famous words which Sakara even has tattooed on his torso:  Veni, Vidi, Vici…