The UFC and the World Series Of Fighting will both be holding events in the state of New York by the end of 2016, WITH the only major American MMA promotion not running in the state this year will be Bellator MMA.
However, according to Bellator MMA President Scott Coker, the promotion will be heading to the state in 2017.
“I think we’ll probably go to the City first,” Coker said to MMA Junkie. “There’s some great talent on the roster; I think timing is going to be an issue of when these guys are available. New York has been waiting for 15, 20 years for an MMA show, Viacom is based out of New York City, and we’re going to do it right. All the executives are going to come to the show, and it will be a big showcase for all the properties, and we’re planting the flag for New York City.”
The upcoming light heavyweight title fight between champion Liam McGeary and Phil Davis, set for November, was originally set for Brooklyn, New York until scheduling conflicts caused the fight to be moved.
“As far as the fight, we want to bring the right fight there, and if we could have put it together, this fight would have been one of the big fights on the (New York) card,” Coker said. “We’re going to wait and when we do it, we’ll do it right. There’s no timetable, whether it happens in first quarter of next year.”
The next Bellator MMA event, Bellator 163, will be taking place on Friday, November 4th from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut with Liam McGeary and Phil Davis headlining. Fightful.com spoke to Coker, Davis, McGeary, Sergei Kharitonov and Marloes Coenen ahead of the show
