LONDON – As a fight promoter, seeing your champion dethroned by a fighter from another promotion could be considered a problem. But where some people see problems, Bellator president Scott Coker sees opportunities. MMA Junkie briefly caught up with Coker during a chaotic fight week in London and asked if Darrion Caldwell (13-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) losing his bantamweight title to Rizin FF’s Kyoji Horiguchi (28-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) would present promotional challenges for his organization moving forward. “See, you have it all wrong. Kyoji is a Bellator fighter now, too,” Coker said. “I’m going to put my arm right around Kyoji like this and say, ‘Hey, I’ll see you next year!’” Coker explained that, far from being a problem, Horiguchi’s title win only helps cement the working partnership between Bellator and Rizin, with the unique situation created by Horiguchi’s victory activating a scenario already agreed between Coker and Rizin president Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
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Scott Coker: Kyoji Horiguchi’s title win means he’s ‘part of the Bellator family’ now – MMA Junkie