Bellator MMA announced its first big event under the Scott Coker regime with Tito Ortiz facing Stephan Bonnar on Saturday, November 15th. The event was promoted on Friday’s Bellator 123 telecast with an in ring promo that was reminiscent of pro wrestling.
The Bonnar-Ortiz segment can be seen here. It features a man in a mask and the requisite fighter pull apart. It was part pro wrestling, part early days of UFC when Ortiz and Chuck Liddell/Ken Shamrock feuded.
In addition, the promotion will hold the rematch of May’s PPV fight between Michael Chandler and Will Brooks.
The event will go up against UFC 180 which will feature Cain Velsquez defending his Heavyweight title against Fabricio Werdum on PPV.
Payout Perspective:
What do we think about the promo for the fight? Is it too scripted for MMA? My only critique is that they should have had security pull the fighters apart and not Coker, et al. That would have made the scene a little more authentic. Certainly, something like this is done to drum up buzz for this fight. For the MMA fan, the allure of the November 15th fight is Chandler-Brooks but the shoulder programming and subsequent promotion for this event will be Bonnar-Ortiz.
I thought it was embarrassing and cheesy.