Bellator president, Scott Coker admits he is surprised the UFC has released so many high-profile names, but knows it is good for his promotion.
Recently, Dana White revealed the UFC would be releasing 60 fighters, and already names like Yoel Romero, Anderson Silva, and Rumble Johnson have been let go. Romero and Johnson ended up signing with Bellator where Coker knows fighters want to be here and they are a better fit.
“At the end of the day, I think the fighters wanted to be here,” Coker said to MMAFighting. “They made the move to be here. I think each one of those guys had different circumstances with their past employer and I don’t think that they wanted to take this fight or that fight and some ultimatums were thrown around is what I heard. It just didn’t work out. Too bad for them, good for us and now look at that light heavyweight division we have..”
When those high-profile names will make their debuts are uncertain. However, many hope Romero and Johnson will have their Bellator debuts against each other in what would be a massive fight for the company.
Bellator is set to return in February 2021 and the goal is to have 22-26 events in 2021.
