The MMA general news, events and thoughts thread

[Dai]

Cant remember any major issues during his fighting days, Ebb? Didnt he even release an autobiography at some point (I think I remember that happening) during his career, and nothing huge came of what he wrote in that?

[jimufctna24]

Hunt did serve two jail terms for violent behaviour before he started competing in combat sport. 

But I don't recall reading or hearing anything too bad about his character while he was active in combat sport. 

I admittedly haven't read his book.

[wandshogun09]

I read his book but it’s been donkeys years. Vaguely remember the jail stuff and that his old man routinely battered him and his siblings when they were growing up. He’s always been a bit of an unpredictable one and had a fiery temper. Even just on social media I’ve seen him go off on randoms for pretty minor stuff from time to time. Never would’ve made the leap that he’d be a woman beater though. Didn’t think he was squeaky clean or a nice guy like GSP is a nice guy, but I wouldn’t have expected him to be this far in the other direction either. 

[NeverYield]

Yes Hunt served a few months for robbing cars and the like I think, someone of their Dr. Martens boots of all things, and then a second term for the violence 

I always liked watching Hunt fight, but he's someone who I think just has that prescence about him that he's a bit of a loose cannon

some fighters are totally professional and are pretty diplomatic people despite their obvious capabilities, and this is likely because of what they know they're capable of

whereas other fighters are just nutters who would absolutely rag doll someone for a mild indiscretion

Badr Hari is another one who would kick the fuck out of you I think and I also think Jai Opetaia would be game to have it out on the street with somebody, whereas other fighters wouldlnt entertain it, some just have less control and a complete dont fuck with me attitude that spills over into who they are 

[Egg Shen]

On 4/16/2026 at 12:42 PM, jimufctna24 said:

 

But I don't recall reading or hearing anything too bad about his character while he was active in combat sport. 

 

Sorry, I worded my initial post badly. I just meant that I personally got the impression that during his career Hunt was seen as a bit of a fun loving, happy go lucky guy who just so happened to be granite tough and loved to fight. 

[Egg Shen]

Coker coming back🤔

I have higher hopes for this than the poxy GFL.

 

[Dai]

Here's hoping its at least something different and interesting compared to the UFC, but I have no hope of any alternative being any good these days, such as the monopoly the UFC have. Coker to MVP Netflix would be more exciting I think.

[jimufctna24]

While Coker's Bellator stint did improve as it went on, it was pretty dire overall. 

1 hour ago, Dai said:

Here's hoping its at least something different and interesting compared to the UFC, but I have no hope of any alternative being any good these days, such as the monopoly the UFC have. Coker to MVP Netflix would be more exciting I think.

 

Exactly.

While the list of investors are impressive, what talent will the company be able to sign?

[wandshogun09]

Yeah that’s the problem any alternative promotion is gonna have going forward. Sadly, as much as fans get excited when a new promotion starts up, and as much as I’d love to be proven wrong, the days of a Strikeforce type promotion just aren’t realistic in 2026 and beyond. There are good fighters out there but there simply isn’t enough of them to build a strong roster that’s deep enough for a sustained long term impact. You might get one good show out of it but then there just isn’t enough depth to keep pumping out consistent quality cards.

Like MVP for example this past weekend, they’ve got a guy like Salahdine Parnasse who looks like a fighter who would be right at home in the Top 15 in the UFC’s Lightweight rankings, in my opinion. A solid addition to anyone’s roster. But they don’t have any truly great fights out there for him because almost every single notable, top Lightweight is in the UFC. And you can basically apply this across the board in every weight class. There are really good individual fighters out there but very rarely are there genuinely interesting high level opponents who can make a proper rival to them. So nothing ever gets going. No great feuds or competitive rivalries are really possible and all you can do with these standout fighters is give them who’s out there. Which results in a lot of lopsided fights. Ngannou at Heavyweight is another one. A legitimate top two Heavyweight on the planet right now, and he might still be #1. But there’s nobody for him to fight that means shit because everyone’s under UFC lock and key. And it’s obviously 100% by design. Monopoly.

[Carbomb]

Also, in a weird way, the market is also saturated in terms of opportunities for good fighters to not only earn a living but have decent competition as well. At the top, you have the UFC, then you've got PFL, One, and Rizin. Underneath that you have the bigger regional ones like Brave, Oktagon, KSW, Cage Warriors, etc. 

The only one that seems to have a USP outside all that, and its appealing is limited, is Gamebred.

Edited May 21 by Carbomb
Rivaldo

[wandshogun09]

Coker’s already on about tournaments for his new promotion.

When are they ever gonna learn? Almost every time a new promotion starts up, they seem to think tournaments are the answer and it never works. You’re not recreating the magic of Pride’s Grand Prix because it’s not 2003 anymore and there isn’t enough talent out there in the free market like there was back then. Coker’s been around long enough to know. He’s seen all these new promoters come and go, they come in with some financial backing and making big promises about being competition to the UFC. And it never goes anywhere. Tournaments aren’t the answer. I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t know if there even is an answer in 2026. The UFC has made it to where the pool of talent outside their bubble just isn’t deep enough to make a strong promotion beyond regional shows. Seen Coker on about building it like Strikeforce and talking about how they built prospects like Cormier and Rousey who were just starting out, but successfully mixed it with established names like Fedor etc. Correct. But that was 15 years ago. He reckons they’re gonna do the same here and I’d love to see him do it but it’s just not realistic is it? Where’s he even gonna get all the established stars from this time? Because the big names that are out there in 2026 are all around 40 and probably only have a handful of fights left anyway. There’s enough out there to pop a one-off show and be a success. But you’re not recreating a Strikeforce type thing anymore. The MMA landscape just isn’t structured for that anymore. 

[Carbomb]

Outside the UFC, PFL, and One, it seems to me the best chance any upstart promotion can have to get eyeballs quickly and in large numbers is to include celebrity freakshow shit-MMA fights. Maybe even have a division just for that running parallel to the pro stuff. They're not going to be able to fill their roster with top-level fighters in their primes from the big three, so they need to find a workaround.

Problem with that is MVP is already on the way to cornering that already limited market, led by a guy who is already highly experienced in that particular field.

Tournaments, IMO, should only be used judiciously to decide titles, not regularly. 

A part of me wonders if there's room for gym teams - teams for Tri-Star, ATT, Alpha Male, City Kickboxing, etc. Maybe have a special, seasonal event where the teams draft prospects from the AMMA scene?

[Dai]

Coker was the guy who came into Bellator and got rid of the tourneys didnt he? He knows first hand how shite the Bellator ones were, so seems strange why hes going down that route. He's also the guy who booked the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, which was won by someone who wasn't even originally in it. 

The problem with tourneys is that the viewer doesn't have a loyalty or fandom to a specific fighter, so seeing them in a semi final or final is no different than just seeing them in a standalone fight. Its not like the FA Cup, where you really care about your team winning the early stages. Then throw in that nearly every MMA tourney has injuries and substitutions, plus the fact that they nearly always produce worse match ups than what a good promoter does, and all of it just means they are a bad idea. The disaster that was the PFL Million Dollar leagues should have also showed that.

 

As for the answer for a big alternative, I just can't see any road where that can happen. I can't see it being the Netflix option, so it definitely wont be a small time operation (50 mill of funding is tiny, surely) by Coker.

[wandshogun09]

36 minutes ago, Dai said:

Then throw in that nearly every MMA tourney has injuries and substitutions, plus the fact that they nearly always produce worse match ups than what a good promoter does

This is why I mentioned the Pride GPs. Not that they didn’t have their issues as well but they had a roster where a tournament could work because a lot of times the field was full of either elite fighters or jobbers. The jobbers never made it to the later rounds anyway but the amount of top guys in it meant that, while you had specific fights you wanted to see and the tournament didn’t always allow for that, you were almost guaranteed something good no matter how the bracket played out. Like the 2003 GP for example. Obviously, Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva would’ve been the ideal final. But even with the tournament bullshit throwing a spanner in the works and Rampage fucking things up, the Wandy vs Rampage final we got didn’t leave anyone feeling shortchanged and it spawned one of the best rivalries the promotion ever had.

In fairness to Coker, the last time I actually enjoyed a tournament, it was him promoting it. The Heavyweight Grand Prix in Strikeforce in 2012. They had enough big names to play with (Fedor, Overeem, Werdum, Arlovski, Bigfoot etc) and a tremendous final between Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett.  But even that, that’s 14 years since we had a good one and even then the tournament format caused all kinds of havoc. Cormier won the whole thing but he wasn’t even in it when the tournament started, he was an alternate. He stepped in because Overeem dropped out after beating Werdum (in a stinker from what I remember) in the quarter finals. So they lucked out in the end and the success Cormier went on to have in his career kind of legitimised that tournament in retrospect. But it was a bit of a shambles at the time. When that tournament started I think people were thinking we’d be getting a Fedor vs Overeem final, or finally getting that Fedor vs Barnett fight or something. Bigfoot squashing Fedor in the opening round of the GP put a right downer on it and really solidified the feeling that Fedor’s prime really was over and that the Werdum loss wasn’t just a blip.

Still, Cormier vs Barnett was great. And often gets overlooked when the topic of best Heavyweight MMA fights gets brought up. 

Edited May 23 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

Was it a great fight? I remember it being a proper coming out for Cormier, didn't he dominate?