Scott Coker Says Khabib Nurmagomedov Was ‘Freaking Out’ Over Success Of Bellator vs. Rizin Event

The Bellator boss said Khabib couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

Scott Coker On Khabib
Scott Coker On Khabib - Image via @khabib_nurmagomedov Instagram/ @MMACrazy Youtube
  • Scott Coker revealed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s remarkable comment about the recent Bellator vs. Rizin event
  • The Bellator CEO educated “The Eagle” about the roots of combat sports in Japan

As advertised, Bellator and Rizin pulled off a spectacular year-end cross-promotional event on New Year’s Eve. Bellator vs. Rizin was a success, to say the least, and according to Bellator CEO Scott Coker, even Eagle FC founder and former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was in awe.

Educating the legend

In a press conference, Coker revealed how his private conversation with Nurmagomedov went down after the massive MMA event that took place in Japan. The Bellator boss said “The Eagle” was “freaking out” as it was the first time he had learned how big combat sports is in the Land of the Rising Sun.

“Khabib [had] never seen the production and the fans and he was freaking out,” Coker began. “He was telling me, he kept telling me, ‘This is unbelievable. I had no idea that, you know, something like this was happening in Japan.’ And I said, ‘You know, this is where it started, Khabib. This is where, you know, MMA and martial arts combat, it started here and it grew out through the rest of the world but there was a time when Japan had the best fighters in the world, the best production in the world, the best promotion in the world.’”

“He was really impressed,” he continued. “… I think he was extremely excited and I think he’ll be talking about Japanese MMA and Rizin and the show for a long time.”

See the results of the Bellator vs. Rizin main card below:

A.J. McKee def. Roberto de Souza via unanimous decision

Patricio Pitbull def. Kleber Koike via unanimous decision

Kyoji Horiguchi def. Hiromasa Ougikubo via unanimous decision

Juan Archuleta def. Soo Chul Kim via split decision

Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Koji Takeda via unanimous decision

A collab finally happening?

It can be recalled that Nurmagomedov and Coker have previously hinted at a potential collaboration with a fight between Junior Dos Santos and Fedor Emelianenko as the proposed headliner. However, nothing concrete has materialized yet to this day.

Having heard Coker’s recent revelation, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see him and the Eagle FC boss linking up again in the near future.

Published on January 1, 2023 at 11:18 am
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