Bellator CEO Reveals UFC Star Khabib Nurmagomedov Was Ironically “Freaking Out” at the Level of Production in Their Rizin Cross-Promotion Event

Bellator MMS vs Rizin, which went down on 31st December 2022, saw the Bellator fighters complete a clean sweep against their Rizin counterparts.

On a day that saw AJ McKee and Patricio Pitbull pull off victories against their opponents, Bellator President Scott Coker also had the experience to share the event with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

When asked about his interaction with Khabib during the event, Coker couldn’t stop emphasizing how the event left Khabib ‘freaking out.’

Scott Coker on what Khabib Nurmagomedov said about the event

During the press conference that followed the cross-platform event, Coker was asked about what he had to say about the former UFC Lightweight champion who was present during the fights. The 60-year-old stated that Khabib was left quite surprised seeing the type of production that went into the event.

“Very interesting because he wasn’t here in the heydays. I got to see those fights. A lot of you know I’ve been in the martial arts business for a long time. I started working for K1 in 1999. So I got to see a lot of the great fights in K1. I got to see the great fights in Pride and Khabib has never seen the production and the fans. He was freaking out, he’s telling me ‘this is unbelievable, I had no idea that something like this was happening in Japan’.” stated Coker.

The long-time Bellator President also mentioned that he found it ironic that Khabib was freaking out as they sat together. “It’s so ironic to sit here with Khabib he’s like freaking out about the production and the staging and the pageantry. He was really impressed. It was weird because he wasn’t here when it was even bigger than it is today.” were his exact words.

The fact that Khabib wasn’t a part of the generation that had promotions like PRIDE FC, as emphasized by Coker, could be why Khabib seemed to have been taken by surprise.

Scott Coker on the nostalgia associated with Japan

Scott Coker has been a part of combat sports and various fight promotions throughout his long career. Many would consider him a veteran in the field of promoting fights and events.

From founding and heading Strikeforce till its eventual purchase by Zuffa, the current Bellator president has experienced the sport in all its forms.

During the press conference, Coker recalled the events and fights that took place in Japan and even seemed to reminisce a bit while mentioning it to Khabib. “I said this is where it all started Khabib. This is where MMA and martial arts combat started. It grew throughout the rest of the world but there was a time when japan had the best fighters, promotion best production in the world.”

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Coker was also confident that the event would surely have left a mark on Khabib. He mentions “I am happy he was here. I think he was extremely excited and he’ll be talking about Japanese MMA, Rizin, and the show for a long time.” 

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MMA and combat sports in Japan might not be as big as it was during the days of PRIDE FC, but the Rizin 40 event surely must have given Khabib an experience to remember.

It was evident from a post he made on Instagram where he thanked the Japanese fans for a great event. Considering the legacy of the sport in Japan, one could surely imagine a Dagestani fighter competing in Japan soon.