Not only did the cost per fight run into the millions, but they had to co-promote every show with M-1 Global, Emelianenko's fight company. And after every show, Emelianenko's people would keep trying to change the deal. He was also submitted in one minute by Fabricio Werdum's triangle, in what was from a world MMA news standpoint, the biggest moment in the company's history.
The idea to turn things around, was the heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. It was an idea from Japan. Coker had regularly attended the K-1 World Grand Prix every year which at its peak would sell out the Tokyo Dome and be every bit as big in that country to the public as an event like the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament was in the U.
Instead of one night, he figured it was best to space it out over a year, like Pride had done with its successful tournaments.
The idea would be two first round fights on two different nights, then the two semis a few months later, ending with the finals. The idea at first was that hopefully the semifinals could get them back on CBS, and build to the finals on pay-per-view with the hook of crowning the "true" best heavyweight in the world.
Those guys, they aren't big risk takers. After we signed Fedor at everyone's suggestion, we didn't get the support from our distributors that we thought and hoped for. Nothing was guaranteed and they could expose themselves to great risk, and they got out. To them, it was just business. We were an asset not making enough money and having too much risk.
For the rest of us, it meant a lot more. They spent heavy on the tournament. The eight first-round fights would pit Emelianenko vs. The idea was to build for Overeem vs. Fedor in the semifinals. There was simply no way to outlay the kind of money it took to get those fighters together without big pay-per-view numbers or much larger television rights fees backing it up. When it first came up, it was a very quick period of time before the deal was done.
This wasn't being negotiated six months or a year. It went down very quickly. The thing for me was, my partners wanted to get out of the business. Baylor's Oklahoma test, Purdue's upset chances at Ohio State and more to watch in Week 11's biggest games. Florida State Seminoles. NBA experts: Which early-season surprises are here to stay?
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In the main event of the Strikeforce Challengers card held at the Stockton Arena, lightweights Justin Wilcox and Rodrigo Damm are set to collide. We've received your submission. But while this will be the first time with Bellator, the year-old organization which has for years been considered the second most-prominent mixed martial arts outfit behind the omnipresent UFC, Coker made his name in combat sports as the founder and CEO of former Showtime partner Strikeforce.
We have to be a little bit patient right now. The broadcast presentation will take on the typical Showtime combat sports aesthetic as well, according to Coker.
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