Scott Coker will be talking to Anthony Pettis to gauge their level of interest in bringing “Showtime” to Bellator.
On Tuesday night, Pettis announced he would be departing the UFC and is planing on testing free agency. Immediately, many fans wanted to see him in Bellator, and it appears the promotion is interested.
“I’m sure my guys are already talking to their camps, and we’ll have a conversation,” Coker told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “Level (of interest) is sometimes based on the business deal because there has to be a certain value there based on the price, and really that’s what it comes down to: Is the value worth what we think of the fights we can put together for him?”
“Really it’s like, how much does he have left in the gas tank? But we’ll definitely have that conversation, and we usually have that conversation with every free agent, whether we sign them or not. We’ll probably do the same thing with Pettis if we haven’t already done it.”
Anthony Pettis is now on a two-fight winning streak after beating Alex Morono and Donald Cerrone by decision.
Although his last two wins have come at welterweight, Pettis hinted at a return to lightweight. However, Coker admits he would like to see him at welterweight to book Showtime vs. Michael Page.
“(Pettis vs. ‘MVP’) would be a lot of fun,” Coker said. “That would be amazing. We’ll see. There are only so many slots on TV for us. We’ll be having 22 to 26 fights (in 2021), and it’ll all be mapped out sometime in the next three weeks and we’ll figure it out. We’ll have a conversation and see where it goes.”
For now, Anthony Pettis will be exploring free agency and talking to a variety of MMA promotions. However, going to Bellator, where his brother, Sergio fights, seems like the most likely scenario.