Scott Coker Confirms Bellator Has Reached Out To Brock Lesnar

The Brock Lesnar lottery talk continues to swirl as we approach 2015, and now Scott Coker has confirmed that Bellator MMA have reached out to the WWE champion, who remains under contract with the pro wrestling giant until after Wrestlemania 31. According to Coker, who spoke to MMA Fighting about pursuing Lesnar, there have been no serious talks, but Bellator have gone about "saying hello" to the former UFC heavyweight champion. As a result;

There hasn't been any serious dialogue, but when the time comes to have serious dialogue, we'll be right there.

He went on to add that;

I think that he's a big needle mover. There have been several years that have passed and I think that he still has the WWE limelight.

More interestingly, Coker had the following to say about signing Lesnar and other high-profile free agents;

There's not going to be a fighter on the planet we can't afford and have access to.

That's an intriguing statement, and could indicate that Bellator's ownership, Viacom, are willing to open the purse strings to sign big names. As CEO of Strikeforce, Coker was known for opening the vault and handing out big contracts to notable names in the MMA business. He's the reason that Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem, and Cung Le were making as much money as they were, contracts that carried over to the UFC when Zuffa bought Strikeforce and eventually merged the two promotions. In Bellator's early days under Bjorn Rebney, big money contracts were few and far between, with the exception of Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson, and a play at signing away Gilbert Melendez from the UFC. In that case, the UFC was forced to match a very lucrative contract offer. Those cases, however, would pale in comparison to the sort of money Lesnar could get, and in turn, earn for the promotion. Coker also addressed Gina Carano, who the UFC had been working hard to sign for a match with champion Ronda Rousey. Carano has worked with Scott Coker before, and he may have an inside track on signing the fighter-come-actor. He mentioned her busy schedule, but finished with;

If fighters like that are available, you can be sure we'll make a run at them.

In any case, it looks like Bellator is poised to make some moves and challenge the UFC for top stars in 2015.