Twitter Mailbag: Bellator's big shake-up, and what it means for MMA

It was looking like a quiet week for the Twitter Mailbag. Then former Strikeforce honcho Scott Coker showed up out of nowhere, tapping Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney on the shoulder like, ‘Give me the keys, buddy. I’ll take it from here.’

What does it all mean? That’s what we’ll try to figure out in this week’s TMB. We’ll also see if we can’t find some time to wonder how in tarnation James Te Huna and Nate Marquardt qualify as UFC main event material.

Fire off your own question to @BenFowlkesMMA. Or don’t. See if I care (please do, though; I care so, so much).

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@benfowlkesMMA Am I the only one sad to see Rebney go?He founded his co, made it unique,and now seems to have been pushed out by Viacom #TMB—
J.R. Brisket (@MMAbrisket) June 19, 2014

Judging by the reactions from many Bellator fighters on Twitter, you’re definitely not the only one.

It’s always a little sad to see some fight promoter lose control of the ship he built. You can imagine him boxing up his desk, putting that sad little bonzai tree in a cardboard box right next to his books on leadership and his Newton’s cradle, plus that ergonomic keyboard that he is totally taking with him no matter what anyone says because he brought it from home, dammit. So yeah,it’s a little depressing. I just don’t know that it’s all that surprising.

Bellator MMA has been suffering through a bit of an identity crisis lately, as you may have noticed. From the foray into pay-per-view territory to attempts to revive the star-power of fading greats to a recent heavyweight promo that planted tongue firmly in cheek when hyping James Thompson vs. Eric Prindle (or Pringle, whatever his name is), it feels like Bellator has been trying different looks lately, hoping to find one that will work. Rarely is that a sign that there’s a consistent, coherent vision at the top.

But you’re right: We have to give Rebney his props on his way out the door. He got this thing off the ground, gave it its own unique feel (which might now give way to a more familiar feel, but more on that later), and made the right moves to take it from viral video sensation on Spanish-language TV to major player in the MMA space.

Now the ride is over, at least for him, but it’s not like he’s leaving empty-handed. Spend it in good health, Bjorn. And as Scott Coker reminds us, you never know what the future holds.

@benfowlkesMMA is Coker the solution to all of Bellator's problems (bad PR re contracts, fighter retention, competing w UFC)? #TMB—
Roberto (@roberto_MMA) June 18, 2014

Whoa there. This is Scott Coker we’re talking about, not Julius Caesar. There are a lot of areas where he can help, most notably with his contacts in the Bay Area MMA scene and the skill with which he leveraged local draws to aid ticket sales, but it’s not like he’s going to single-handedly right the ship overnight.

It’s true that a lot of fighters like him, so that helps. He also has experience promoting events within the often stifling parameters imposed by a domineering TV partner.

That’s all stuff that will serve him well in his new role, but it’s not like fight fans are going to tune in en masse just because Coker’s smiling and waving from cageside. Hell, for most of his Strikeforce tenure, you could never even be sure whether he was actually at the fights. Whenever you asked him about a controversial moment, he’d just tell you he didn’t see it, and when you asked him about future plans it was all vague promises to announce something in the next week, maybe 10 days.

In that way, he was MMA’s totally chill camp counselor, which might explain why so many fighters like him. What’s really going to matter now is whether he can get some of those big name fighters in the Bellator cage, and whether he can build new stars from the existing roster. It’s not going to be easy, but you have to assume he knows that by now.

@benfowlkesMMA You're Scott Coker, what, if anything, would you change immediately about Bellator?—
Tom Johnson (@tjohn224) June 18, 2014

If I’m Scott Coker, depending on how much money I walked away with after Zuffa purchased Strikeforce and then gave me a job that required me to do even less than Chuck Liddell on a daily basis, I’m still on a beach somewhere, sipping Mai Tais and letting incoming calls go directly to voicemail. But that probably explains why I’m not Scott Coker in the first place.

But OK, I’ll play along. What would I change first? Probably the name. Bellator MMA has some baggage among the people who have heard of it. Among the people who haven’t, it doesn’t tell them anything. A name change might also dovetail nicely with one of the few changes that Coker hinted at, which is a move away from the weekly tournament format.

I wouldn’t get rid of the tournaments altogether. MMA fans have always liked the occasional tournament (or, if you prefer, a grand prix). UFC President Dana White is adamant about not doing them, so there’s your unique selling proposition as a competing MMA promotion. At the same time, tying yourself exclusively to that will always limit you, as Bellator has found. It needs more freedom. It also needs a new identity, which brings me back to the name change idea. Guess we might as well start spit-balling new names now, right? I’ll go first: Yamma Pit Fighting. What? That one’s taken? Well, I’m fresh out of ideas then.

@benfowlkesMMA #TMB who deserves the next shot at hendricks the brown/lawler winner or rory macdonald and why—
gap yonks (@gapyonks) June 18, 2014

Assuming we get a clear winner when Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler go at it, and also assuming that they don’t completely destroy one another in the process, it’s hard to make a case for Rory MacDonald.

Lawler has a recent win over him, so that trumps a couple decisions over Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley. If Lawler falls to Brown (which I doubt he will, but anything can, as they say, happen), then Brown beat the last guy who beat MacDonald. Either way, MacDonald’s best bet might be to hope that the winner of the Lawler-Brown fight is too banged up to get back in there once Johny Hendricks is healthy.

And honestly? That’s not such a farfetched possibility.

@benfowlkesMMA regarding chael, if there is a healthy and legal way for him to continue fighting, do you think he should/will return? #tmb—
Ryan DeRosa (@LBDeRo) June 18, 2014

I guess that would depend on what he hopes to gain from it. If the answer is simply money, then no, probably not. He can make plenty of that outside the cage, assuming he hasn’t damaged his own brand too badly with this latest drug test failure and the flip-flopping fallout that resulted from it.

Chael Sonnen doesn’t need to fight anymore. That turns it into a question of how badly he wants to, and I suspect that the note he’s going out on here could play a significant role in his answer.

As much as the MMA world might have enjoyed thinking of him as an entertaining, pro wrestling-esque blowhard, I never got the sense that Sonnen truly saw himself that way. He wanted to be champion, and I think up until recently, he really thought he would be some day. As time passes, either he’ll learn how to put away those regrets or else they’ll gnaw at him until he has to do something about it. But by then he’ll be pushing 40, choosing between two divisions that are both guarded by killers at or near the top, and he won’t have the advantage of synthetic testosterone injections to help him make up the difference.

That brings us to the other part of your question. Could Sonnen find a healthy, legal way to return to active competition? Yes, but it would take time and better planning than anything he’s demonstrated lately. In the wake of his latest failed drug test, many people were quick to point out that the banned substances he was caught using were “necessary” (by which they mean ideal or recommended) for a man transitioning off synthetic testosterone. Then again, that’s also part of why they’re banned, because steroid users love to use them while cycling off the juice. (Sidenote: saying Sonnen needed banned post-steroid drugs to get off his totally legitimate “hormone therapy,” is that supposed to make us feel better about the whole TRT thing? Because it really doesn’t.)

If Sonnen had asked permission to use those drugs, seems like there’s a decent chance the Nevada commission would have given it to him. Instead he tried to get away with it, then offered up a bunch of conflicting excuses (out-of-competition! fertility! no one even knows the rules!) when he got caught. The good news is, now that he’s retired he can do what he wants with his own body.

That makes you wonder though, is what he wants to continue this doctor-recommended transition from synthetic testosterone to a drug-free lifestyle? Or might he be tempted to go back to what was working so well, now that there’s no more drug tests coming? The choice he makes now could play a major role in his comeback options later.

@benfowlkesMMA With news out that Cormier will need surgery, is It crazy to think Jones asked for that fight because he knew of ahead? #tmb—
Bryan Godin (@deanofbean) June 19, 2014

@benfowlkesMMA With the constant reminder it's "fight week," is it just me or has that excited feeling about an event been diminished? #TMB—
Brendan Mizgala (@Miz06) June 18, 2014

It’s not just you. The never-ending fight week phenomenon necessarily makes it all seem more common, which in turn makes it seem less special. It’s like how, come June or July, I remember that pro football is a thing that exists and I start getting excited for it. But if you’d tried to get me to watch the Packers and the Steelers in March, sorry, I got stuff to do.

If there’s an upside, it’s that there are enough mediocre or totally missable events these days that it helps the big ones – UFC 175, for instance – stand out on the event calendar. It’s just a bummer for those fighters stuck on the fight cards right before and after.

@benfowlkesMMA Marquardt-Te Huna (both coming off of bad KO's) and Bader-OSP as main events. How much free time does the UFC think we have?—
Saqib Qadeer (@SaqibQadeer) June 18, 2014

It’s not so much that the UFC thinks fans have so much free time, though it’s probably a little of that (18-34 men, you know what I’m saying?). Mainly, it’s that it thinks enough of these fans will watch absolutely anything with those three magic letters attached to it, even if some will choose to sit a few out.

In some senses, it’s right. When the UFC takes its act to New Zealand next week, you can bet there will be plenty of people who show up knowing that this is nowhere near the best that the UFC has to offer them, but it is the best that they’re going to get for now. It’s not so different for the other UFC event that same day, which features a card in San Antonio headlined by Cub Swanson and Jeremy Stephens.

Could the UFC put together better fight cards for ticket-buyers in both markets? Sure, but it doesn’t really have to. Some people will still show up, just like some will still log in to UFC Fight Pass to watch it all. And for crying out loud, UFC Fight Pass streamed a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing this week, so it’s like they’re picky about content.

The point is, the UFC seems to accept that fans won’t watch all the events it puts on. Even UFC President Dana White missed the last UFC Fight Night event, and apparently didn’t even bother to go back and watch it before firing one of the guys who fought on it. It’s just too much for most people to keep up with, especially since the quality of each fight card is wildly variable.

The UFC seems to tacitly accept that as part of its new reality. I just wonder if it’s considered the potential long-term consequences of conditioning fans to skip so much of its programming. Because those people who are taking the hint and ignoring the events that seem like little more than a bridge to the next big pay-per-view? There’s no guarantee that they’ll come back when you want them to.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.