Scott Coker provides timeline on Bellator return to hosting events on the road
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – When it comes to hosting events outside the bubble at Mohegan Sun, Bellator president Scott Coker “can see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Coker said Friday night that the promotion, which is owned by media giant ViacomCBS, has been in communication with the “Viacom-COVID task force” about hosting events on the road now that COVID-19 restrictions have begun to ease nationwide and more than 66 million people have been fully vaccinated.
“We’ve had conversations with them about moving forward and getting out of the bubble and start promoting fights (on the road),” Coker said at the Bellator 256 post-event news conference. “We are monitoring the tiers, the different colors of tiers like they have in California – as to what tier L.A. is, what tier the Bay Area is. How can we promote effectively and make sure it works financially for us?”
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Unlike the UFC, which already has two pay-per-view events with full crowds scheduled April 24 in Jacksonville, Fla., (UFC 261) and May 15 in Houston (UFC 262), Coker indicated that having limited states fully reopened wouldn’t work for Bellator.
“If it’s still a locked-down version throughout the country except for a couple states, it’s gonna be tough. But when everything does open up, we will definitely get on the road,” Coker said. “I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I just think everybody has to be patient. We’re gonna be here (at Mohegan Sun) through the June fights anyway, but maybe at the beginning of July or end of July, August, September, in that timeframe, we’ll definitely be on the road at some point. Already talking to the venues that we normally go to. I think before the end of the year you’ll see Bellator on the road in a big way.”
Following a five-month hiatus, Bellator returned on July 24 and has held all 13 of its domestic events at Mohegan Sun Arena. The promotion, however, did complete a brief stint of European shows last September/October, hosting three events in Milan, Italy and becoming the first major MMA promotion to host an event in France with Bellator Paris on October 10.
