Scott Coker likes to stay in his own lane, and not focus on his competition.
This weekend saw the UFC go head to head with Bellator, with Aspen Ladd vs Norma Dumont headlining the former’s card at the Apex Center, and Phoenix, Arizona playing host to Vadim Nemkov vs Julius Anglickas. However Coker apparently had no idea that he was stepping on Dana White’s toes.
While speaking to media after Bellator 268, Coker was asked about the fact that Bellator and the UFC had fights going at the same time. Here he explained that he had no idea UFC Vegas 40 was happening that night, because he was focused on running his own promotion.
“You know, honestly I didn’t even know they had a card tonight. That’s the truth. I focus on my business, I focus on what we’re doing. I think we’re doing some great things… I think we’re back doing what we do best, we’re back on the road, and putting on great fights, and I think that’s what we did tonight,” Coker said.
Scott Coker seems to be proving at every step of the way that he is focused on what his crew is doing, instead of what his competitors are up to. That is why it seems to be a reasonable suggestion that he had no idea that the UFC had a card on the same day as his, especially considering the quality of the Fight Night in question and it’s much earlier start time.
The initial reaction to Coker saying that would be to doubt him, as the UFC can be hard to miss when they are making a show of things, promotionally. That said, whether he knew that he was putting on a show as the same time as his rival promotion or not, the time difference alone would mean that they do not have an effect on each other.
Check out the full post-fight interview below:
