Events will be’made for TV’ experiences on sound stages until it’s safe to return to full audiences, says Scott Coker
Bellator MMA, the leading mixed martial arts organisation owned by CBS/Viacom, is planning to stage six events in six weeks behind closed doors at the media giant’s Los Angeles headquarters from mid-July to catch up with events lost during the coronavirus pandemic. One of those events had been scheduled for Wembley Arena on May 16.
Scott Coker, president of Bellator MMA, told Telegraph Sport exclusively on Thursday: “My goal is to get all our scheduled 30 events in by the end of the year. We have a very ambitious plan but I want to make this happen. We have international and domestic deals we need to fulfil.
“It will take time for people to develop confidence to go back to the movies, basketball games, boxing events and combat events. We decided in July, August and September and maybe even October we’ll be on a sound stage in LA or at the Paramount Lot in LA. We’re talking to both of them right now and we’re looking at all the different options around the world. What I mean is no audience, a sound stage, an isolated event where we can control the environment. We’ll make it a ‘made for TV’ show only.
Travel bans will also have an impact. “If the travel ban is not lifted then I can’t get fighters like Patricio Pitbull [ from Brazil] and Daniel Weichel [Germany] here. That’s something we might have to work out. I told my guys yesterday that there might be a situation where these guys can’t travel. So I need a contingency plan of USA fighters against USA fighters. We might not be able to get the featherweight quarter-finalists from our tournament here, so that might have to be pushed back.”
That includes Pedro Carvalo, a Portuguese fighter who trains in Dublin with Conor McGregor under coach John Kavanagh.
“We might just have to do super fights from North America,” explained Coker. “There’s a lot of unknowns right now including going to the UK. We don’t know what’s going on over there. If we did go there would we go into quarantine? Certain states in the US do that, like Hawaii. Certain states are opening up. Texas is opening up, Florida and Georgia have opened up. It’s affected the world economy and it’s not something I’d ever see in my lifetime. But we’ll just have to do it.”
The key will be testing fighters, their cornermen, officials and television crews and announcers. “The testing protocols will be worked out. I feel the athletic commissions will want to have its own protocol and then Viacom as a company will have its own protocol,” explained Coker. “The thing about it is, Viacom will have a protocol that addresses employees but we have cornermen and cutmen to deal with. We’ll have Viacom needs for protocol, Bellator needs for protocol and then the Athletic Commission needs for protocol. All three of those need to be addressed and they will be.”
Is Coker’s vision that they must come back by mid-July? “Have to? Absolutely not. If we can come back in July, and I believe we can, we’re waiting for the numbers so the government can allow us to do events. Our fighters will be ready when the time is right. Our staff is ready now. It’s a matter of giving fighters time when we get the green light. We can get a protocol in the next two months. Do we have to come back in July? No, but it’s our wish to do it and I believe we can do.”
The UFC intendsto return as early as May 9 but as yet there have not been any details about testing.
“I don’t want to speak about their business model, but it’s been documented that a lot of companies are having hard times right now,” Coker said. “Talking about Bellator, we’re a small company and we’ve been very diligent about how we’re operating right now. When we get back we’ll be able to do it quickly. As far as the world economy, it’s been pretty much devastated. There’s 26 million people out of work in America right now. It’s like a great depression. It’ll be interesting to see how this all balances out. We’ll get through this and we’ll get back to what we do best. I think we can do that in July.”