{"id":463474,"date":"2022-11-18T17:03:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-19T01:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=463474"},"modified":"2022-11-26T09:56:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T17:56:17","slug":"scott-coker-calls-chicago-a-big-target-to-host-fights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/bellator\/scott-coker-calls-chicago-a-big-target-to-host-fights\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Coker calls Chicago a \u2018big target\u2019 to host fights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Coker took it slow when COVID-19 took over the world, as he held his Bellator events at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut without fans. Unlike the UFC<\/a>, who forged ahead earlier than any other MMA promotion or major sports league, Bellator remained complacent that the right time would eventually come. And, sure enough, it did.<\/p>\n

Over the last eight months or so, Bellator has returned to the likes of Ireland, San Jose, Arizona, Italy and many others locations. One of those locations in the ladder category is Chicago, Ill., as Bellator 288 plays host to two title fights at the top of the bill, including light heavyweight title challenger Corey \u201cOvertime\u201d Anderson, as he\u2019ll rematch<\/a> Vadim Nemkov in the finals of the long-awaited conclusion of the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

Anderson wasn\u2019t originally pleased with having his second crack at gold be in his home state, according to an interview<\/a> with WTVO Eyewitness News Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Despite Anderson\u2019s original doubts around the fight\u2019s location, as he is a Rockton, Ill., native, Coker is keen on continuing to make Chicago-based Bellator events a priority, given the promotion\u2019s intent for global expansion. Its recent shows have been at Allstate Arena, but this time, the home of the DePaul Blue Demons, Wintrust Arena, will play host to the night\u2019s festivities.<\/p>\n

\u201dSo, when COVID hit, we had a scheduled date already at the Allstate Arena,\u201d Coker said during a media scrum after the ceremonial weigh-ins Thursday. \u201cSo, there was a date on the books. We were gonna work towards [coming back to Chicago], but then COVID hit and everything got shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The road back to a sense of normalcy has been slow for Bellator.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of COVID, really \u00a0it\u2019s only been, you know, six months, eight months kind of where we\u2019ve been looking for venues and places to go,\u201d Scott Coker said. \u201cThis is a big target for us as far as, you know, developing this market in terms of fight fans and delivering great fight cards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday night will mark the promotion\u2019s first trip to the Windy City since 2019.<\/p>\n

Can you see Bellator returning to Chicago in the near future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, Penn Nation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott Coker took it slow when COVID-19 took over the world, as he held his Bellator events at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut without fans. Unlike the UFC, who forged ahead earlier than any other MMA promotion or major sports league, Bellator remained complacent that the right time would eventually come. And, sure enough, it did. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54498,"featured_media":302170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[44,10122],"tags":[8762,810,83462],"yoast_head":"\nScott Coker calls Chicago a \u2018big target\u2019 to host fights | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out why Scott Coker feels that Chicago is a key destination when it comes to the Bellator\u2019s success and growth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/bellator\/scott-coker-calls-chicago-a-big-target-to-host-fights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scott Coker calls Chicago a \u2018big target\u2019 to host fights 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