Aaron Pico’s defeat at Bellator 214 is just “the nature of the beast,” according to CEO Scott Coker.
Los Angeles, CA — Brand names against other brand names. That’s how Bellator CEO Scott Coker referred to the matchmaking approach for tentpole events like Bellator 214 over the weekend. Fans saw it in Fedor vs. Bader, though since that evolved via the Heavyweight Grand Prix, it wasn’t exactly traditional matchmaking. Pico vs. Corrales, and Archuleta vs. Bandejas, however, would make good examples.
Speaking of Pico, his loss at Bellator 214 is just part of the fight game, Coker suggested following the event on Saturday in Los Angeles. “Nobody is undefeated in MMA for a long period of time,” Coker told media outlets including Cageside Press following the show. “That’s just how it is. One punch, one kick, one submission. It changes the whole landscape.”
“Pico, he almost won the fight. Then he got stopped,” Coker observed. “That’s just the nature of the beast.” Coker suggests Pico will head back to the drawing board.
Plenty of other storylines arose from Bellator 214, of course. One is the potential return of Tito Ortiz, who last fought against Chuck Liddell in November, under Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy banner. Ortiz, it seems, is keen for another crack at Chael Sonnen, who he already defeated in Bellator.
“Fighting Chael, he’s already done that. To me, it’s like, why would you want to rehash that?” Coker said of the idea. Coker did admit Ortiz’s manager had reached out to Bellator, but they have not yet had any talks. “If he wanted to fight again, would we fight him? I’m not sure.” Coker added, saying they’re not that far down the road yet.
One fight Coker did put to rest was Ortiz vs. Dan Henderson, saying they weren’t talking to either man about that.
