Scott Coker firing shots at Ben Askren

[shankmcgank]

Is it wrong that I think Askren looks mentally retarded?

Hey, I appreciate his hustle, but damn, sometimes a peron's faces is enough to make me angry.

His smug face, plus his retarded looking hair, just make for a head that was meant to be punched repeatedly.

My God, I hope someone smashes him so bad he has to retire.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

It's not that Bellator wanted Askren to fight more. They have a WW tournament, so they can't have a fighter just come in for a 1-fight deal, potentially win and bail.

i get it, but Askren didn't want to be in it is my point.

you either take what he's giving or you get nothing. beggars can't be choosers, and Askren had other things on his plate.

they made an offer and he refused. simple.

i don't know what else is there to read into it.

imagine if Askren accepted and won the WW THEN left? that would've put Bellator in a much more shittier position than they are now.

 

[Iroh]

If MMA would be a person with a conscience, Dana would be the little devil advisor on his right shoulder and Coker would be the little angel advisor on the left shoulder.

 

[jpak]

I like Coker, but all he did is confirm what Askren said. Askren said he only wanted Rory, Coker wanted him to enter the GP, which possibly meant more than one fight, and not vs Rory.

 

[MilkSteak]

How is that "firing shots"?

How is Coker's reply even any kind of a rebuttal? He's just backing up Askren's point..... Askren only needs a one fight deal to fight Rory. He does not need a three fight deal to fight Rory.

No sane company jeopardizes their star just to give opportunity for tr challenger to walk away after a one fight deal.

 

[Fergelmince]

No sane company jeopardizes their star just to give opportunity for tr challenger to walk away after a one fight deal.

That doesn’t explain how Coker is firing shots.

 

[JoshR86]

How is that "firing shots"?

How is Coker's reply even any kind of a rebuttal? He's just backing up Askren's point..... Askren only needs a one fight deal to fight Rory. He does not need a three fight deal to fight Rory.

Because the last thing you want is someone to come in, take the belt, and leave to another organization.

 

[Guffman]

Completely understand both sides on this.

Coker would be foolish to risk having his champion being beaten in a one-off fight. Ben would leave for the UFC with a ton of heat and Bellator would be left in the dust.

And with Ben, winning a Bellator tournament is not what he's after. Been there, done that. He wants to make his mark (and his money) in the UFC while he still can. His time is now on this goal.

I think this has worked out for the best for both parties, really.

 

[Bookerman]

Coker always annoyed me as he is always very diplomatic, which makes for boring interviews. I have no doubt he is the one telling the truth here.

 

[Pakman]

So Askren ducked Rory....

Are you braindead?

 

[rjmbrd]

I see it from both of their perspectives:

Askren wanted a deal that would only benefit him - one fight against the current champion without participating in the tournament format that Bellator has clearly planned in advance.

Bellator wanted a deal that would guarantee them Askren fights for the promotion multiple times, so they can try and leverage some ratings out of giving him an immediate title shot.


Nothing wrong with either of them having a point of view, honestly it would have been a pretty bad deal for Bellator to sign anyone for a one fight deal with one of their marquee talents. That just isn't going to happen in todays landscape. Ben may still feel slighted by Bellator from Bjorn, and is at a point in his career where he's looking for his best possible deal or he'll pass.

 

[MMAart]

Like it was such a mystery that Ed Ruth would have become a great fighter.

Askren himself made a list in 2014 about the top college wrestlers that in his opinion could make it into mma, and he put Ruth number 1.

"1.Ed Ruth– Now my initial assumption is that he will probably wrestle, but this guy could make millions fighting MMA within years. The more I watched him the more I was impressed with him, despite his laziness at times he was still very dominant this season. This dude has all the tools necessary, his body control is unmatched and grip is ridiculous. He would be nasty in BJJ immediately and with his range and agility would pick up the striking quickly also. The only thing that can stop Ed would be him getting complacent at the wrong time."

https://awawisconsin.com/which-2014-seniors-will-make-great-mma-fighters/

Scott Coker isn't a genius for scouting great talent, simply he is willing to sign 0-0 kids out of college and the UFC does not.

How do you explain Coker scouting for top tier talents like Cormier and Rockhold, who at the time no one heard of, who then went on a tear in the UFC?

Also, Rousey, Cyborg, and several were top Strikeforce talents, too.

Fact is Coker knows how to scout and develop real talents. Dana simply throw (Lorenzo Fertitta's) money to acquire fighters once they are already great.

If Coker were the president of the UFC, the HW and LHW divisions would be in much better shape than they are now.

 

[Nabs]

Man it's so sad that social media has turned grown men into babbling bitches. Nothing is sacred nor kept private anymore. Pffft.

 

[MMAart]

i get it, but Askren didn't want to be in it is my point.

you either take what he's giving or you get nothing. beggars can't be choosers, and Askren had other things on his plate.

they made an offer and he refused. simple.

i don't know what else is there to read into it.

imagine if Askren accepted and won the WW THEN left? that would've put Bellator in a much more shittier position than they are now.

Now I know why Askren didn't want to fight through the Bellator WW tournament... as pointed out by others in here, he is ducking Ed Ruth.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

Now I know why Askren didn't want to fight through the Bellator WW tournament... as pointed out by others in here, he is ducking Ed Ruth.

you mean the guy who's 6-0 versus unknown competition? ok...

and like i said, he's ducking everyone but Rory. because nobody else provides any kind of upside to beating them except Rory.

why doesn't Tyron Woodley call out Ed Ruth? why doesn't GSP call out Ed Ruth? that's right, because nobody gives a fuck about Ed Ruth.

 

[HP_Nut]

Why would any promotion agree? Essentially, Ben wants to instantly fight the champion, hopefully win, then leave them hanging. It makes the promotion look horrible, beat our champion & immediately leave. What do they get out of it? Also, they already planned the grand prix. So Ben beats Rory in rd 1, then they tell the world, yea Ben is supposed to fight in rd 2 but it was just a 1 fight deal. It messed up their grand prix.

Imagine if UFC said sure Ben, we will give you a instant title fight & 1 fight deal so you can leave immediately after. No promotion would agree to this, especially when its not even a huge name that sells. Ben Askren is a legit high level WW, a bad style matchup for lots of guys, but no promotion would bend over backwards to accommodate him in this manner.

 

[Bubblun]

How do you explain Coker scouting for top tier talents like Cormier and Rockhold, who at the time no one heard of, who then went on a tear in the UFC?

Also, Rousey, Cyborg, and several were top Strikeforce talents, too.

Fact is Coker knows how to scout and develop real talents. Dana simply throw (Lorenzo Fertitta's) money to acquire fighters once they are already great.

If Coker were the president of the UFC, the HW and LHW divisions would be in much better shape than they are now.

Cormier and Rockhold... Coker has connections with AKA, he was Javier Mendez trainer back in the day.
You can bet when they have a good new fighter they ring his phone, to get into the UFC you need to be proven.

Rousey and Cyborg... the UFC had not women division at the time.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Hmm... I wonder why Askren only wanted 1 fight instead of fighting in the entire Bellator WW Grand Prix... Is there an opponent in that list who Askren doesn't want to fight against?

Answer all..Rory Included..it's okay he's going to get exposed by Lawler then will probably be back at Coker's door

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Hmm... I wonder why Askren only wanted 1 fight instead of fighting in the entire Bellator WW Grand Prix... Is there an opponent in that list who Askren doesn't want to fight against?

Plus he already beat two of their best fighters. Having to face already beaten fighters is a lose lose.

 

[Final Say]

I think Coker is a decent Promoter and worked with his cards well... and a lot of his fighters don’t have dw shit on him or threaten to release said type shit.

That said.

I don’t see Ben ducking Rory.
No disrespect to Rort, elite gladiator....
but if u watch fights and even remotely follow the business...

Not so sure about that.

Very tough fight for both guys but I'm sure they'd both take it

The problem was probably contractual in nature, which is what Scott is basically saying