Bellator MMA boss Scott Coker on Gina Carano, 'Cyborg' and picking up top-tier women's talent

Scott Coker is looking for top-shelf talent to build Bellator MMA’s women’s divisions, but he isn’t yet signing two high-profile free agents.

Gina Carano (7-1) was rumored to be in talks with the Viacom-owned promotion earlier this month, but Coker said there were no substantial negotiations with the former Strikeforce star and movie actor.

Instead, the new Bellator president said his focus is building a division at featherweight, which includes recent signee Marloes Coenen, a former Strikeforce champ, and upcoming opponent Julia Budd, as well as possibly another division in a lighter weight class.

“I would say this: We would be interested in having any great female fighter fight in Bellator, but in saying that, it was one conversation (with Carano), and that was it,” Coker today told MMAjunkie. “I don’t want people to read into it that it was some big back-and-forth negotiation, because that wasn’t true.

“It was a quick conversation, and we wish her the best of luck if she does decide to come back to the cage.”

Carano was also in talks with the UFC to fight women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey later this year. UFC President Dana White expressed confidence that he would sign Carano, who hasn’t fought in five years, to a contract, but talks recently stalled.

As of yet, Rousey remains unbooked for her next fight. Meanwhile, a name frequently mentioned as the most relevant challenge to her dominance, Cristiane Justino (12-1), who sent Carano into semi-retirement in 2009, will soon reach the free-agent market. The two have a long-running rivalry and “Cyborg” has promised to move from featherweight, where she currently holds the Invicta FC title, to Rousey’s bantamweight class.

Justino might be an attractive candidate for Coker’s Bellator, though she remains under contract with the all-female Invicta FC for the near future.

“I know she’s in Thailand right now, so I haven’t talked to her,” he said. “Any female that is of that caliber, we’d be interested in having a conversation. When she’s a free agent, we’ll have a conversation.”

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