LAS VEGAS – Dana White doesn’t necessarily want one of his biggest competitors in the MMA space to go away.
Amid rumors of Bellator MMA’s doors soon shutting, the UFC CEO has previously made definitive statements about his interest, or lack thereof, in purchasing the company. However, White admits that while he doesn’t want to buy the brand, he doesn’t want it to go away either.
In recent months, multiple rumors have been flying around, ranging from a sale of the company to a merger with PFL to an outright shutdown of all operations. Bellator president Scott Coker has acknowledged there have been important ongoing business talks, but there are currently no concrete details available about the future of the MMA promotion.
“If Bellator continues to exist, it’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing,” White told reporters at a news conference following DWCS 65. “If you look at all the sh*t that we take about a lot of things, they’re owned by f*cking Viacom. You know how much money these guys have? Why would they be going out of business unless they’re just tired of doing it, because you’re hearing rumors about Showtime too, not just Bellator.”
Bellator was founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney. Six years later, Coker, who founded Strikeforce which would later be acquired by the UFC, took the helm and has been guiding the California-based promotion ever since. But this time, unlike Strikeforce, it appears the UFC isn’t interested in taking control of a Coker-led company, even though the Bellator fighter roster is widely considered the second-best next to the UFC.
Over the years, Bellator has added many former UFC fighters to its roster, extending their careers on a big platform while also giving fans familiar faces to watch. In the process, Bellator has also built up a solid core of current high-level fighters such as Patricio Freire, A.J. McKee, Vadim Nemkov, Yaroslav Amosov, and Usman Nurmagomedov, among others.
Despite their solid roster, and acknowledging that competition is good for the marketplace, White doesn’t believe it’s a smart business move to purchase the company.
“Why on God’s green f*cking Earth would anybody buy Bellator?” White said last month in response to rumors of PFL acquiring the promotion. “… Why anyone would buy Bellator is besides me. But hey, what do I know? I’ll sit back and see how this plays out.”
Bellator is days away from hosting a milestone event, Bellator 300, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The promotion has one other event scheduled, Bellator 301 on Nov. 17. Beyond that, the future of the promotion is unclear.
