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UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Bellator president Scott Coker was enthused and excited when he spoke to MMA Junkie on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Coker voiced his intrigue in Thursday’s Bellator 250 main event between welterweight champion Douglas Lima and former middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi. The two fighters will compete for the middleweight title that was vacated by Rafael Lovato Jr.

In addition to the main event, Coker spoke on a host of additional topics, including Jake Hager’s development, Bellator’s East Coast friendly start time, the promotion’s recent parting with 30 athletes, and ring card girl Mercedes Terrell’s departure.

Breakdown on Douglas Lima vs. Gegard Mousasi

“The issue with Gegard fighting, let’s say, Rory (Macdonald) when Rory wanted to come up. Rory was so small. He couldn’t hang with the size of Gegard, and Gegard just basically took it to him. This is a little bit different because Lima is a big 170 pounder. I bet you he’s probably walking around at 200. For him to come to 185, it’s not that bad. When I was looking at both of them at the weigh-ins, I’m like, Lima looks bigger than Gegard to me right now. The size of the athlete and the physicality is not going to be a problem for Lima. It’s going to be very interesting. Now, it’s going to be about strategy and tactics and who can execute.”

Was it difficult to make Lima vs. Mousasi knowing one top talent will lose?

“Lima came to me with this fight. It wasn’t like we had to talk him into it or we asked Gegard, ‘Do you want to do this?’ Lima came to us and said, ‘I want to fight Gegard, and I want to fight for the 185-pound belt. I said, ‘OK.’ That’s how this fight came about. It wasn’t us having to coax these guys into it. To me, if the fighters want to fight other athletes, and it makes sense for everybody, then let’s get it on. To me, it’s about what fans want to see.”

Recent roster departures

“The (list) is really a reflection of where the company is going, right? One of the things about running this company with 250 to 270 to sometimes almost 300 athletes is there are only so many TV spots. There’s only so much room on the roster.

Is There Any Bellator Fights Tonight

“Sometimes fighters retire, like Pat Curran. He retired. Jon Fitch, he retired. Sometimes there are fighters whose contracts run out. That’s just what it is. We chose not to re-sign them, or they went somewhere else. To me, it’s just 30 fighters that have (are) basically gone, and we signed 30 new fighters. We need to make room for some of the new athletes on the roster.

“Really, it’s a period over what? This is the first time this has happened since February, right? You’re talking about 30 athletes in a 10-month period. You’re talking about three athletes a month going in and out. It’s really not that much. It just seems like a lot because we haven’t done it since COVID hit. That’s been about 10 months.”

CBS Sports Network broadcast start time

“The time frame is really based on the commitments CBS Sports Network has with football and different sports. You might see a little bit of hour here, hour there flexibility. We have a three-fight card. We have a tremendous amount of commercial load we have to put into the show, and we have a two-hour stop that has to happen because they’re going right into another (event) – football or something. We have to deliver the show in two hours. For me, it’s better safe than sorry. They mapped it all out. They said, ‘If we don’t do it this way and the fights go over, we’re going to be in an issue.’ So we said, ‘Let’s do three fights and be good to our partners.’ That’s why it’s a three-fight card tomorrow.”

Mercedes Terrell's Bellator tenure coming to an end

“She’s still part of the family. I told her, ‘Hey, you’re always welcome to come and be a part of the team. Her husband is here working with us, too. She’ll always be part of the Bellator family. She’ll always be the very first ring girl here in the company. She was here way before me. She’s been here since, I think, Day 1. To me, she is definitely going to be treated with that respect. She’ll be around. We’ll find something for her to do.”

When will Jake Hager take the next step up in competition?

“It’s just consistency. I know he’s got a busy wrestling schedule, and he’s popular, and he’s got other commitments. But if we can get him in here and have him fight four or five fights in, let’s say, a 12- to 14-month period, just to keep him busy every two months or every three months, I think that consistency could lead to him fighting some of the bigger athletes or people who are more established.

“It’s no different than when Bobby Lashley was here. Right? When we were promoting Bobby Lashley, I went through the same thing with him. He had a wrestling schedule. He was traveling here. He was traveling there. I’m thinking, ‘Man, this guy is really developing, and if he could just stay here for a year and just fight here every other month.” I saw his growth, and he can do it. Bobby was a guy that could do it, and I think Jake is a guy that can do it. They just need that consistency, the rep, the growth, and then they can get it on with the bigger guys.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Ronny Markes could be bitter, but he’s not.

A Bellator newcomer, Markes (19-7 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was booked to fight against Josh Barnett twice in the past three months. Both times the fights were cancelled. The first instance happened in December, when Barnett (35-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was forced out of his promotional debut due to a day-of-fight medical issue. The fight was rebooked for Friday’s Bellator 241, but Barnett was yanked from the card due to undisclosed commission issues.

In Barnett’s place, former UFC fighter Matt Mitrione (13-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) stepped in on short notice last week.

Despite the back-to-back fight shakeups, Markes said he holds no ill will toward Barnett. He respects the PRIDE, UFC, and Strikeforce legend, the Brazilian heavyweight told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight media day held Wednesday.

“I liked the time there, but I didn’t like the vacation,” Markes said, of Hawaii. “I (went) there and brought my whole coaching (staff), everybody. I’d love to (have) seen this fight. Josh was sick. I respect him. He’s an honorable guy. He’s a legend.

“Right now, I don’t know what kind of problem he had with the commission, but I didn’t come here to talk (expletive) about Josh. He needs my respect. I respect him a lot. He needs to fix his problems with the commission. I hope this fixes soon. Me and him have a deal. He signed the contract to fight me. I hope this happens in the future.”

In Markes’ eyes, it would be inappropriate for him to hold a grudge. What if he encounters the same issue down the line? How would that make him look?

“Everybody has a bad day or bad feelings in their lives,” Markes said. “Why am I going to talk bad about him? Maybe tomorrow, I’ll be in the same situation. You know? Why am I going to come here and talk a lot of (expletive)? I’m not a typical guy (who) tries to take advantage of something negative. I hope he fixes everything and Bellator schedules me and him.”

When the two heavyweights step in the cage Friday night, Markes said he’s going to charge forward. If he can get his hands on the American, Markes thinks he’ll score a knockout.

“I’m going to walk forward,” Markes said. “I’m going to try to put my hands (on him). If my hands connect, it will 100 percent (make) him drop. Because, the heavyweights, only one hand can change everything.”

Bellator 241 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

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Check out MMA Junkie’s full Bellator 241 pre-fight interview with Ronny Markes in the video above.