True to his word, Bellator president Scott Coker has entered negotiations with former UFC featherweight champ Cris Cyborg.
Coker said negotiations are ongoing with Cyborg’s management firm Paradigm. The Bellator chief expects a decision to be made within the next two weeks on whether Cyborg will sign a contract.
“You know how these things go, it takes time,” Coker told MMA Junkie.
Asked about other promotions vying for Cyborg’s services, Coker said he’s certain there are multiple promotions attempting to acquire the ex-champ, though he didn’t mention any specific names.
One thing Coker is adamant about is Cyborg’s value, which is he said is unchanged despite a release from the UFC.
“She’s the greatest female fighter of all time,” he said.
After news of Cyborg’s release broke, Coker said he would immediately make a play for the fighter, which was made possible when the UFC waived it’s contractual right to an exclusive negotiation period with Cyborg, making her an unrestricted free agent.
Cyborg’s relationship with the UFC had been spiraling downward over the past several months, with the ex-champ demanding public apologies from UFC president Dana White and color commentator for past insulting comments.
But the final straw was a video posted on Cyborg’s YouTube account that showed a backstage meeting between the two after Cyborg’s decision win over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240.
In the video, Cyborg tells White to stop lying about her desire to rematch two-division champ Amanda Nunes. The exchange ends when White leans in and says, “whenever you hear me saying stuff, I’m not saying …” White started.
The subtitle provided on the video from Cyborg’s side of White’s next words is “the truth.” It’s clear those are not accurate, but it’s hard to make out what the UFC executive is saying.
After the video went viral, Cyborg released a public apology to White and the UFC, saying her team had made a mistake in translation. But the damage had already been done.
“What she did is one of the dirtiest things you can do to somebody,” White said in an interview after her release. “That’s why she apologized.”
Coker previously promoted Cyborg under the now-defunct Strikeforce banner. Cyborg’s 2009 headliner with Gina Carano was the biggest fight in Strikeforce history at the time.
Cyborg went on to become a star in the UFC. But Coker said her relationship with industry leader was poisoned from the outset.
“(White) tried to hurt her career by saying all those things,” he said. “The people that are making decisions on this side know what the truth is.”
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