Bellator President: 'Cris Cyborg is one of the event's biggest stars and the UFC has never committed to his division'

S. Coker (left) and C. Cyborg (right) pose for a photo during their Strikeforce days. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter @scottcoker

Chris Cyborg He has a new house. After not renewing with the UFC and signing with Bellator, the Brazilian appears to be on good terms with her new boss. Scott Coker, president of Bellator, revealed that he has bold plans for the athlete and already considers her one of the biggest stars in his franchise

See too

STRONG IMAGE: Fighter gets deformed foot in fight at KSW 50

Khabib auctions off Poirier's shirt and donates US$100 to former rival's social project

Coker revealed in a conversation with the North American website MMA Figting, how the negotiations to hire Cyborg went after a troubled departure from the UFC. He also set big goals for the fighter's career.

“I talked to (her managers) and said, 'Look, this isn't something we have to rush into, but we want to be in the Cyborg business and I think there's a lot of familiarity because of her past relationship fighting for me when I owned it. Strikeforce'”, “We ran the numbers and knew we would be a great home for her,” he added.

The director also made a point of placing Cris as one of the biggest names in his organization. “To be in the cast with Gegard (Mousasi) and Rory (MacDonald) and (Ryan) Bader and all the other stars, she is without a doubt one of the biggest names at our event,” he added.

On active

One of the biggest complaints Chris Cyborg with the UFC it was the lack of investment in its category, the women's featherweight (up to 65.7 kg.). The division didn't even have a ranking in Ultimate and Cris' opponents were, for the most part, athletes from other divisions who moved up in weight just to face Cris and then returned to bantamweight (up to 61.2 kg.). However, according to Scott Coker the story will be different from Bellator.

“It’s our job to keep it going, which I think we’ll be very successful at,” Coker said. “I really think she's not active because I don't think the UFC has committed to the 65.7-pound weight class. They never committed to blowing up this weight class,” he fired.

“The difference is that we are in the women's division with a weight of up to 65.7 kg. We are in the business of women in this weight class,” she concluded.