Bellator president Scott Coker is putting a lot of stock into Saturday night’s Bellator 263 event.
The card airs live on Showtime with Patricio Pitbull and AJ McKee in the main event of the Featherweight World Grand Prix. Pitbull’s featherweight title will also be on the line.
For Coker, this serves as a point in the right direction event for the promotion and its fighters.
“This is a relaunch of Bellator. We have had about 16 months of doing fights in a closed environment where we have had to do fights without an audience. It’s been challenging for the fighters and the staff, and it’s been a grind, but we are finally here,” he said. “We have announced some great fights coming up not just domestically but worldwide. The fight this Saturday is an unbelievable main event. When I was watching the pairings I was honestly sitting there hoping that A.J. and Pitbull would be the final fight. Here we are 15 months later with $1 million on the line, the belt, and the tournament belt. I wish both fighter’s good luck.
“Pitbull has been the champ since this A.J. came here, that’s how long he’s been taking care of business. That’s why this fight will be so interesting.
“Sports need fans, and fans need sports. The fans are the oxygen of the people competing. When there’s no audience it doesn’t mean people can’t compete and do their best, but at the end of the day I do believe the fans can make a difference in the outcome of a fight.
“This fight made a lot of sense for Los Angeles, and I’m glad we did it here. It’s the right place to have this fight.”
BELLATOR 263: Pitbull vs. McKee Main Card:
Saturday, July 31 – Live on SHOWTIME
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
Featherweight World Title Main Event: C-Patricio Pitbull (32-4) vs. #1-AJ McKee (17-0)
Featherweight Bout: #2-Emmanuel Sanchez (20-5) vs. #8-Mads Burnell (15-3)
Lightweight Bout: Usman Nurmagomedov (12-0) vs. Manny Muro (12-6)
Lightweight Bout: Brent Primus (10-1) vs. Islam Mamedov (19-1-1)
Lightweight Bout: #5-Goiti Yamauchi (25-5) vs. Chris Gonzalez (6-0)
Preliminary Card:
BELLATOR MMA YouTube Channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube Channel | Pluto TV
7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Women’s Flyweight Bout: #10-Vanessa Porto (22-9) vs. Ilara Joanne (9-5)
150 lb. Contract Weight Bout: Gadzhi Rabadanov (15-4-2) vs. Daniel Carey (7-4)
Featherweight Bout: Khasan Magomedsharipov (5-0) vs. Jonathan Quiroz (3-4)
180 lb. Contract Weight Bout: Joshua Jones (10-5) vs. Johnny Cisneros (13-7)
Lightweight Bout: Georgi Karakhanyan (30-11-1) vs. Kiefer Crosbie (8-2)
Bantamweight Bout: Brian Moore (13-7) vs. Jordan Winski (11-2)
190 lb. Contract Weight Bout: Justin Barry (pro debut) vs. Daniel Compton (4-3)
