When Scott Coker spoke to assembled journalists and media outlets at Bellator 200, no one could have imagined the unprecedented speed and scale at which fighters would subsequently be snapped up. Post event Coker alluded to a Europe wide push, region specific, to fill a void. Signings would ensue, he promised, with a localised product built for the fan and fighters alike.
This new emphasis would herald what amounts to a development programme for up and coming mixed martial artists and an opportunity for those more seasoned in the game to fight more regularly. Free agents were scouted, courted then signed to lucrative contracts, the likes of which many had not experienced outside of the UFC. A signing frenzy that has all but secured Bellator’s dominance, in a not so crowded space.
Jude Samuel, who many are pointing the finger at, suggesting a premeditated effort on his part of undermining the future growth of BAMMA, an organisation he has been part of for the past 10 years, has done his job in fact he has exceeded the brief. The so called ‘BAMMATOR’ relationship was over before he tendered his resignation and was quickly courted by Bellator. Sources revealed to me sometime after their last joint show in Newcastle, 15th December 2017, that BAMMA and Bellator would not be working together going forward....
More: Bellator: A disturbance in the force…
