Scott Coker hopes to build stars again like in Bellator, Strikeforce

The Bellator Era of Scott Coker’s career officially is in the rearview mirror, but the MMA pioneer is looking back on his run there with pride.

Coker took the reins at Bellator in 2014 just after his Strikeforce deal ended. That deal was in place after he sold the promotion he founded and it was folded into the UFC. In late 2023, Bellator was bought by the PFL, and Coker did not make the transition to the new company.

“The opportunity was there,” Coker recently told MMA Junkie Radio, but he chose to get back to his entrepreneurial roots and will run a new event series called Fight Night at the Tech, which premieres May 18 in San Jose, Calif. Coker will be an executive producer and will work alongside former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

He said developing young fighters is something he was most proud of from his time in Bellator, and likes the idea of doing that again.

“When I first got there, the roster was, they had (Patricio) ‘Pitbull’ (Freire) – he was a great fighter; his brother (Patricky) … they had a couple, maybe three or four people that I’d say were at that level. But I remember sitting down with Bob Cook. … I showed him the roster when I came over and I said, ‘What do you think?’ And he says to me, ‘Oh man, Coker, you’ve got a lot of work to do.’

“Right. So I said, OK, that’s fair. So we’ll go sign Aaron Pico. We’ll go discover A.J. McKee. … I said, ‘Man, this guy – he’s something. I think he’s special, and I think that we should work together.’ So I made a deal with his dad, and then we picked out certain fighters that we’re going to invest in and grow.”

Patricio Freire was a two-division champion for Bellator at featherweight and lightweight and remains its 145-pound champion. He puts his title on the line Friday at Bellator Champions Series: Belfast, the first in the new iteration of Bellator events under PFL ownership. Patricky Freire was a lightweight champion. McKee held the featherweight title, as well.

Coker drew comparisons to the fighters who became homegrown stars under his watch at Strikeforce – all of whom went on to title-winning and Hall of Fame-worthy careers in the UFC.

“Look what’s happening now. Now they’re all becoming stars of their own right,” he said. “To me, that’s something I’m really proud of. We did it in Strikeforce with Daniel (Cormier) and Ronda (Rousey), (Tyron Woodley), Luke Rockhold, Miesha Tate, Amanda Nunes started with us. (Rafael) ‘Feijao’ (Cavalcante) started with us. I mean, it’s like the who’s-who of MMA.”