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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"I just thought it was an amazing event, something we can be proud of. And the numbers speak for themselves. I mean, a 2.2 million peak? I mean, that's pretty amazing. I think one of things we were able to do is bring the fringe fans back, the casual fans back, to MMA. I think that's something that MMA needs. Let's bring back those fans and not rely on just the hardcores... We had a three-week gap between our last fight of the season and the Tito Ortiz fight with Bonnar, and I think we spent that three weeks building it up, building it up and making it a big, big event. So I think the formula is there. I think before, when Bellator was doing these weekly shows, it was almost like it was too much. You don't have time to promote, to really paint the picture of what the fight is really going to be about it... Now we have time to really promote the fight and get to the fans through our digital content and programming on Spike – promoting an event. That's really want my goal is: to make each and every show an event."
-Bellator President Scott Coker talks to MMAJunkie.com about the organization's plans into 2015 off the strength of last month's Bellator 131.
Penick's Analysis: It seems with Bellator pushing older recognizable names, the UFC going after CM Punk, and both trying to make other moves into the new year, it's clear that they're all trying to do something a little different. The casual fanbase tuned in for Bellator 131 at a much higher rate than expected, and if both the UFC and Bellator can find ways to bring those fans back in, then the audience for the sport may start heading back to what it was just a few years ago.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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