Bellator Lightweight Champion Will Brooks has been quite outspoken regarding his current dissatisfaction in Bellator, and he said earlier this month that he believes his plan to fight out his contract has led to further lack of promotional support.
It’s unlikely he’s long for the organization, and when talking about Brooks’ recent comments this week, Bellator President Scott Coker said that the discontent doesn’t bother him. Further, he feels Brooks wanting to fight out his deal and decide his next move from there is the flip side of the situation from a fighter like Benson Henderson.
“This is how it works,” Coker said in an interview with MMAFighting.com. “Fighters are happy until they’re not happy. Right now, he’s not happy. That could change. I don’t take it personally. It’s just part of the business. If he’s gonna yap, he’s gonna yap. That’s just how it is.
“I think he’s a good fighter. I think we’ll offer him some more fights and we’ll fight him out. Then, we’ll see. Free agency is gonna work both ways. Is he a fighter that we would go way out of our way to re-sign? I can’t answer that.”
Penick’s Analysis: If Brooks fights out his deal and has some more entertaining performances on the way out, the UFC may very well be interested in bringing him on board. That’s especially the case if he goes out as Champion and they’re able to strike a blow again to Bellator’s roster. Of course, he could wind up like Ben Askren, fighting lesser competition in Asia for ONE FC while making more money than he would have otherwise. It’s hard to say until he finishes out his deal. Still, given his justified concerns over lack of promotion, he may wind up getting overshadowed for a while until he can get to that final contracted bout.
Attention iPhone/iPad users, if you’ve enjoyed our app in the past and followed us there, or if you’ve never checked it out, make sure to update to the latest version in the Apple store. We’ve launched a new look for the app, in line with our recent desktop overhaul. Make sure to check it out! An update to our Android app is on its way soon as well, so Android users keep an eye out for that update soon!
Leave a Reply