UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Scott Coker sees various options for the next Bellator grand prix.
With the featherweight tournament back under way, the Bellator president has exercised possibilities for what’s next and it may not be what he’s hinted at in the past.
Coker has expressed interest in a potential women’s flyweight tournament multiple times, but he’d like to see how the 125-pound title fight between champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 254 pans out before making a decision.
He said bantamweight and light heavyweight also are in the running.
“That’s not guaranteed yet,” Coker told MMA Junkie following the post-fight news conference. “When I look at our weight classes, now I think about our 135-pound weight class – we just added a bunch of killer fighters on there. And I think about the female 125-pound weight class, and maybe we’ll reserve judgment to see what happens on Dec. 10 when Ilima fights Velasquez – see how that fight goes and see what the outcome is and how exciting it is and that sort of thing. So to me, we have three or four weight classes that we can bring into a tournament.
“To me, our 205-pound weight class could be a great tournament, as well. If you think about all those great fighters that we have – to me, I always say this: It’s the greatest light heavyweight division on the planet in any league. So to me, we have several choices and we’re going to sit down with our internal executive group and we’ll sit down with the networks and we’ll figure it out.”
