Has Scott Coker created a homegrown star in Bellator yet?

[TheBrownRanger]

Thought about this while playing that old EA MMA game from like 2010. It's been 4 years since Coker took over Bellator. Has he successfully made a star from Bellator yet? Let's look at the candidates

Heavyweight: You could say that Lashley was the biggest star in Bellator HW that Coker signed. Though, Bellator chose not to do jackshit with Lashley and instead, fed him cans like Burns and Appelt. The other stars like Fedor, Kongo, Mir, and Mitrione made their names in PRIDE and UFC. Minakov is known for being Heavyweight champion in the Bjorn era, he never fought in the Coker era.

Light-Heavyweight: McGeary was definitely Bellator-grown, but was built up in the Bjorn era. Davis and Bader made their names in the UFC.

Middleweight: I think Rafael Carvalho might be the Bellator champion that Coker truly created, even unintentionally. He was matched up against Rogers and Schilling to lose. Became well known for upsetting a back-then "unbeatable" Brandon Halsey. Even then, I'm not sure if he was signed during the Bjorn or Coker era. Nobody really talks about him being a Coker guy.

Welterweight: Douglas Lima was Bellator champion before Coker, so I'd disqualify him. Koreshkov and Ward were already tournament champions in the Bjorn era. MacDonald, Larkin, Daley, and Fitch were stars far before being signed by Bellator. If Ed Ruth pulls it off in the whole WW tournament, he could change things. MVP is debatable.

Lightweight: Chandler, Primus, Patricky, Caveman, Campos, Girtz = all Bjorn era fighters. You can make a case for Aaron Pico being a future star.

Featherweight: Patricio, Straus, Weichel, Teixeria = also Bjorn era fighters. McKee hasn't faced any meaningful competition despite being 11-0 and only fighting in Bellator.

Bantamweight: Darion Caldwell was signed during the Bjorn era but you can make a case for him being primarily a Coker fighter. There's also James Gallagher, but we all know what he's well-known for now .

You can say that Coker created guys like Ruth, Carvalho, Caldwell, and Pico but there definitely not considered draws. Do you think Coker made any meaningful homegrown talents in the past 4 years?

 

[MMALOPEZ]

AJ McKee

 

[2004 account]

He some in progress but a Star is difficult to create during this low peak of interest mma has been going through imo.

 

[Deleted member 510653]

No 'cause Bellator is trash and it kind of exists between the fine line of legit and a joke. I think it's a matter of time before Bellator crumbles. Stupid tournaments, countless rematches and trilogies, a lot of the OGs fading, etc. The only thing keeping them afloat right now is stick and carroting UFC guys to come over. I stopped watching Bellator over a year ago.

 

[Meathead Jock]

No 'cause Bellator is trash and it kind of exists between the fine line of legit and a joke. I think it's a matter of time before Bellator crumbles. Stupid tournaments, countless rematches and trilogies, a lot of the OGs fading, etc. The only thing keeping them afloat right now is stick and carroting UFC guys to come over. I stopped watching Bellator over a year ago.

I don't know how one couldn't be excited about their WW tournament to be honest.

 

[lsa]

Chael and Wand

 

[CC27]

AJ McKee

AJ McKee is a star?

if thats the case the definition of star has changed.

 

[HUGHPHUG]

I'd say MVP is a Coker star. He was with Bellator before Viacom even but Scott Coker has truly elevated him towards stardom.

Lot of folks are very keen on saying he only fights cans (which isn't true) and yet damn near everyone interested in MMA knows who he is.

Likely he would have continued the same trajectory under the Bjorn regime, but maybe facing tougher competition earlier if the tournament format had remained

 

[Limit Smasher]

Aaron Pico is what first comes to my mind. Well, he has the potential anyway.

 

[strongstylekarate]

Either John Salter or Rafael Lovato once they become Champions.

 

[Go Go Plata]

Define star

 

[Mob69]

This is a point that I often make. Good thread, TS. While I accept that the definition of a 'star' is open to interpretation, considering that Bellator is (or will be until DAZN kicks in this month) a free TV product, there can be two elements to that definition.

The first, and obviously most important, is someone who draws as many eyeballs as possible from casual fans. The second, and in some ways more telling, is a fighter who is must-see TV for hardcore fans and generates lots of buzz among fans 'in the know'.

Coker has spiked Bellator ratings, to be sure, but using old men and UFC cast offs. He has also failed to build a homegrown fighter who is absolutely must-see even for MMA fans. Maybe MVP will be that guy if he runs through the GP, but that seems unlikely. Maybe Aaron Pico or Ed Ruth, or one of the elite wrestlers they have picked up, will explode.

How many Bellator events even generate buzz among hardcores? That is a major problem after four years. Of course, Coker has a very difficult job. The UFC now saturates the market to an extent that was not the case during Strikeforce. Garnering any attention at all is difficult, much less occupying a meaningful amount of real estate in the MMA media/social media sphere. Coker has also assembled a pretty good roster. The problem is getting fans to care/pay attention. The lack of compelling shoulder programming and sufficient social media promo videos from Bellator hurts them. Viacom and DAZN need to spend more on marketing if they want to draw eyeballs/subscribers.

 

[MMALOPEZ]

AJ McKee is a star?

if thats the case the definition of star has changed.

Not a star but he is a homegrown main event guy for them as we speak. There are not many stars in this sport.

 

[FKA]

Thought about this while playing that old EA MMA game from like 2010. It's been 4 years since Coker took over Bellator. Has he successfully made a star from Bellator yet? Let's look at the candidates

Heavyweight: You could say that Lashley was the biggest star in Bellator HW that Coker signed. Though, Bellator chose not to do jackshit with Lashley and instead, fed him cans like Burns and Appelt. The other stars like Fedor, Kongo, Mir, and Mitrione made their names in PRIDE and UFC. Minakov is known for being Heavyweight champion in the Bjorn era, he never fought in the Coker era.

Light-Heavyweight: McGeary was definitely Bellator-grown, but was built up in the Bjorn era. Davis and Bader made their names in the UFC.

Middleweight: I think Rafael Carvalho might be the Bellator champion that Coker truly created, even unintentionally. He was matched up against Rogers and Schilling to lose. Became well known for upsetting a back-then "unbeatable" Brandon Halsey. Even then, I'm not sure if he was signed during the Bjorn or Coker era. Nobody really talks about him being a Coker guy.

Welterweight: Douglas Lima was Bellator champion before Coker, so I'd disqualify him. Koreshkov and Ward were already tournament champions in the Bjorn era. MacDonald, Larkin, Daley, and Fitch were stars far before being signed by Bellator. If Ed Ruth pulls it off in the whole WW tournament, he could change things. MVP is debatable.

Lightweight: Chandler, Primus, Patricky, Caveman, Campos, Girtz = all Bjorn era fighters. You can make a case for Aaron Pico being a future star.

Featherweight: Patricio, Straus, Weichel, Teixeria = also Bjorn era fighters. McKee hasn't faced any meaningful competition despite being 11-0 and only fighting in Bellator.

Bantamweight: Darion Caldwell was signed during the Bjorn era but you can make a case for him being primarily a Coker fighter. There's also James Gallagher, but we all know what he's well-known for now .

You can say that Coker created guys like Ruth, Carvalho, Caldwell, and Pico but there definitely not considered draws. Do you think Coker made any meaningful homegrown talents in the past 4 years?

Name a real star in mma outside connor......?

Bellator doesn t have stars the biggest draw they had kimbo slice wasn't homegrown.

Your definition of star is basically a mid tier guy,champion,or prospect......because that's what you've listed.

Guys like Campos,girtz are not stars and or draws so your definition of star is far from clear.Your basically listing a mixed bag of talent levels and draw power.



Here are guys that are established mid tier guys and or people who will become mid tier or possibly elite level Signed during Cokers Tenure(because that's pretty much what you listed in OP)

HWS
Steve Mowry-highly touted young HW coming from a great camp and is a literal giant lol.

Jake Hager-former WWE wrestler now current Indy wrestler with a decent following and a legit wrestling background could become a decent draw if he's serious about mma....(lashley 2.0)

Rudy Schaffroth-a regional guy with alot of upside looking to make a name on the big show.

Valentin Moldavsky-team fedor member with solid overall game and is already in the upper half of the roster and still growing.

TYRELLE fortune-excellent wrestler with a still evolving overall game with alot of potential. He isn't progressing as fast as some of the other wrestling standouts but still a great fighter.


LHWs
Jarod Trice,Vadim Nemkov,Tyree fortune,Jordan young

MWS
Chris Honeycutt,Romero Cotton, Anatoly Tokov

WWS
neiman gracie,ed ruth,Joey davis,Logan storley,baby slice,yaroslav Amosav

LWS
Pedro carvalho

Fws
Emmanuel Sanchez, Aaron pico,tywan claxton

 

[GueseGuy]

Thought about this while playing that old EA MMA game from like 2010. It's been 4 years since Coker took over Bellator. Has he successfully made a star from Bellator yet? Let's look at the candidates

Heavyweight: You could say that Lashley was the biggest star in Bellator HW that Coker signed. Though, Bellator chose not to do jackshit with Lashley and instead, fed him cans like Burns and Appelt. The other stars like Fedor, Kongo, Mir, and Mitrione made their names in PRIDE and UFC. Minakov is known for being Heavyweight champion in the Bjorn era, he never fought in the Coker era.

Light-Heavyweight: McGeary was definitely Bellator-grown, but was built up in the Bjorn era. Davis and Bader made their names in the UFC.

Middleweight: I think Rafael Carvalho might be the Bellator champion that Coker truly created, even unintentionally. He was matched up against Rogers and Schilling to lose. Became well known for upsetting a back-then "unbeatable" Brandon Halsey. Even then, I'm not sure if he was signed during the Bjorn or Coker era. Nobody really talks about him being a Coker guy.

Welterweight: Douglas Lima was Bellator champion before Coker, so I'd disqualify him. Koreshkov and Ward were already tournament champions in the Bjorn era. MacDonald, Larkin, Daley, and Fitch were stars far before being signed by Bellator. If Ed Ruth pulls it off in the whole WW tournament, he could change things. MVP is debatable.

Lightweight: Chandler, Primus, Patricky, Caveman, Campos, Girtz = all Bjorn era fighters. You can make a case for Aaron Pico being a future star.

Featherweight: Patricio, Straus, Weichel, Teixeria = also Bjorn era fighters. McKee hasn't faced any meaningful competition despite being 11-0 and only fighting in Bellator.

Bantamweight: Darion Caldwell was signed during the Bjorn era but you can make a case for him being primarily a Coker fighter. There's also James Gallagher, but we all know what he's well-known for now .

You can say that Coker created guys like Ruth, Carvalho, Caldwell, and Pico but there definitely not considered draws. Do you think Coker made any meaningful homegrown talents in the past 4 years?

Carvalho was signed by Sam Caplan in Bjorn era

 

[GSP_37]

Aaron Pico's on his way... if only he'd quit doing the cringeworthy matador gesture.

 

[mallen7272]

All of his stars are on the rise right now. Takes time

 

[RODNEY83]

In four years being in charge of Bellator, the answer is NO. BJorn Rebney had the company for 6 years, so Coker has had time. But he has built zero stars. And up and coming does not count. Minakov, Rafael Carvalho, Liam McGeary, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Michael Chandler, the Pitbull Brothers, Darrion Caldwell, Eduardo Dantas, Joe Warren, Pat Curran, and MVP are all Bjorn Rebney signees. Bobby Lashley, I guess is a Scott Coker signee, but once Lashley spoke out about wanting to fight tougher opponents in order to put him on a path to earning a Bellator Heavyweight Title shot, yes people, Lashley wanted to earn his way to a title shot, Scott Coker's response has been to not give Bobby Lashley a fight since October of 2016. Scott Coker's projects have been on a four year can crushing tour in Bellator except maybe Aaron Pico. And he got crushed immediately in Bellator.

 

[Psychedelic]

The douchebag from the reality tv show.

 

[cheesus]

Dillon Danis is the biggest star in Bellator history