Bellator president Scott Coker doesn’t plan to mess up his business relationship with Cris Cyborg.
Yesterday (Sept. 3), it was revealed that Cyborg signed a multi-year deal with Bellator. Cyborg and the UFC had been at odds and UFC president Dana White decided not to match any offers once her contract was up. It didn’t take long for Bellator to scoop up one of the most dominant fighters in MMA history.
Scott Coker Discusses Cris Cyborg Signing With Bellator
Coker spoke to MMAJunkie.com following the announcement of Cyborg’s arrival in Bellator. Coker said that Cyborg will be more active under the Bellator banner.
“We’re going to keep her much more active, and two, they’re not in the 145-pound weight class business, and we are,” he said. “So to me, it’s something I think that we’ve been growing this weight class for the last two, three years, and Cyborg is a great addition to it.
“She will have girls in her weight class to fight, whereas in the UFC, I think it was like, let’s see who we can sign to fight her for a one-off, or make people move up to fight her from a different weight class. But the commitment was never to start a 145-pound weight class – it was always somebody just to fight her. I think that’s the difference. We’ll do this one right.”
Cyborg will also be allowed to box under her Bellator contract.
“MMA is going to be her first commitment, but if she wants to box, I’m all about it,” Coker said. “But we’re going to be a part of it. You might see her boxing on DAZN a couple times a year or once a year.”
Coker noted that while nothing is official, the plan is to have Cyborg immediately challenge Julia Budd for the Bellator women’s featherweight championship. He added that Cyborg, “definitely deserves it.”
