10 Ways Scott Coker Can Improve Bellator To Compete With UFC

7. Keep Your Stars Happy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUyiyFhDFwY Eddie Alvarez's dispute with Bellator has been well publicized. Rampage Jackson actually had a great relationship with Bellator and was very vocal about how happy he was with Bjorn Rebney and the promotion. King Mo's relationship seemed to turn sour after a honeymoon period and some losses; it didn't help when he accused Rebney of riding Rampage's dick. Michael Chandler was handed the keys to the kingdom, heavily promoted, and treated like a star - only to lose two straight to Chandler and Will Brooks. Tito Ortiz seems happy, as does Cheick Kongo, but former champ Attila Veigh essentially accused the promotion of sticking him on the sidelines in order to promote an interim title fight between Mo and Emanuel Newton last year. Ben Askren, the undefeated welterweight champ with polarizing style, was allowed to leave the company, and was practically smeared/devalued on the way out by Rebney. See an issue here? There's no consistency, other than, if you're in a contract dispute, expect the worst. Now, no one is suggesting that things be lovey-dovey all the time. However, the way the Veigh and Askren situations were handled - those should never have blown up as much as they did. Askren is gone. Veigh is no longer champ. Chandler has lost two straight but has a solid contract. You have some champs and contenders complaining about not fighting enough. This is easy enough to fix, especially now that Bellator will allow title shots outside of the tournament system. Alvarez may actually be more likely to resign with Bellator with Rebney gone and Coker in... which leaves Rampage. Like it or not, Rampage is on a 3-fight win streak since leaving the UFC, over legit, if not top-tier, competition. His name draws, and he's not happy to see the guy who fixed his knees go. He has a title shot if he wants it, but he doesn't seem all that interested, especially since he and Emanuel Newton share a coach. Since Rebney's dismissal, Rampage has posted comments to his Instagram account that seem to hint at a possible retirement - though they also seem to have been blown out of proportion just a bit, as they also talk about the star fighting for himself. The exact line: "Time for me to think about retirement. Or fighting 4 myself.." After this post, Rampage and King Mo went at it on Twitter, with Mo poking at the Bellator shakeup's impact on Jackson, and Jackson calling Mo boring, so there's probably a marketable rematch there - if only because of the heat, not the dull match they put on in the ring (Jackson does have a point about the style Mo has brought in recent fights, more pure wrestling than ever before). Thing is, Coker will need to smooth things over with Jackson before any potential match, Newton, Mo, or otherwise. And he'll need to keep any new/upcoming stars happy as well, without stepping on the toes of some of the established Bellator fighters. This is something all promotions have to do, but right now, it's key in Bellator.