Scott Coker Discusses Fedor Emelianenko’s KO Loss at Bellator 214

Following the Bellator 214 event, Bellator MMA President Scott Coker discussed the fight card and Fedor Emelianenko suffering another first-round knockout loss. Below are some highlights from the Bellator 214 post-fight presser (h/t MMAjunkie for transcript).

Coker on seeing Fedor Emelianenko get knocked out: “It’s never easy to see your friends get hit and get knocked out and get hurt.”

Coker on what’s next for Fedor: “That’s really up to him (if he’ll fight again). That’s really up to Fedor. I think that we had a relationship that lasted for many years, and he fought for me back in Strikeforce. And Fedor, he doesn’t have to fight again. He’s already done it all. He’s already the greatest heavyweight of all time. He’s had such a great run. But, really, it’s going to be up to him whether he decides to really put it to rest.”

His thoughts on Fedor: “To me, he’s the GOAT. And that’s it. It goes back to he’s a guy that’s fought everybody that he was presented with.”

Scott Coker on not worrying about Aaron Pico after his loss: “From a promoter’s standpoint, our job is to facilitate the fights and put the fights together and give these kids an opportunity to grow and to get to where they want to go. This is MMA. Nobody is undefeated in MMA for a long period of time. That’s just how it is. One punch, one kick, one submission – it just changes the whole landscape.”

Coker on how Pico almost won: “To me, Pico – he almost won the fight, then he got stopped. That’s just the nature of the beast. I think he’ll go back to the drawing board, he’ll get his learning pad out and put all that energy he put into this fight, and all the strategy and the outcome, and put it into his bank and it’ll help him grow into the future and become a better fighter. That’s my belief. These fighters, especially Pico and Corrales, they have years in front of them. In MMA, no one is undefeated.”