HONOLULU – Bellator president Scott Coker won’t knock [autotag]Josh Barnett[/autotag] for his withdrawal just hours prior to his scheduled Bellator 235 main event against [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag].
Following the second leg of the promotion’s Hawaii back-to-back showcase, the Coker had high praise for Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), calling him a “warrior” and a “legend.”
“I was texting back and forth with Josh,” Coker told MMA Junkie on Saturday night. “He is a warrior. He is a legend. He’s done everything in this sport already, and so he was sick to the point he couldn’t even stand up. He just wasn’t good enough to fight. … I talked to the doctor. She said, ‘Hey look, this guy needs to get an IV in him. He’s not good enough to fight. I’m pulling him.’ She pulled the plug.”
Coker has been involved in fight promoting for 34 years, so it’s not the first time he’s faced a same-night headliner withdrawal. At Bellator 172 in February 2017, Coker watched his highly anticipated headliner between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione get axed due to Mitrione having kidney stones.
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However, Coker said he’s never faced a headliner cancellation that close to the fight before. It was just hours before the two heavyweights were supposed to make the walk when he got the news. All in all, Coker thinks it was the right decision.
“The commission I think made a good call,” Coker said. “I was texting with him today, and he was even sick today. He said, ‘I’m still in bed, I have the chills, my body aches, my kidney’s hurt. I’ve been throwing up all morning.’ I feel bad for the guy. It’s an unfortunate situation. It’s happened twice in my career. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.”
Coker is hoping to rebook Barnett’s Bellator debut against Markes. He’s just not sure when. According to Coker, Barnett wants Jan. 25 in Inglewood, Calif. However, the Bellator president isn’t so sure that’ll happen.
“I would like to, but when? I’m not sure,” Coker said. “Josh said, ‘Please let me fight in L.A. on (Jan. 25).’ But the L.A. card is pretty packed already. I’ve got to figure it out, but I feel like I would like to put that fight together again in fairness to everybody.”
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