Nate Diaz’s former manager: ‘I think people try to portray fighting as a sport too much’

Following an “amazing” event on last Saturday night, Mike Kogan is quite certain that Bellator has found its “edge” over the UFC.

The former manager of Nate Diaz was in attendance at Bellator 131 and explained that the key to the event’s success was in the entertainment value and presentation of the night’s fights. Through the use of entrances and features ahead of the actual match-ups, Bellator allowed fans to grasp the magnitude of the occasion and enhance the overall experience.

“It had an edge – a little entertainment,” Kogan told BloodyElbow.com. “I think people try to portray fighting as a sport too much. It’s a sport, of course, because they are competing and they are athletes. But it also crosses over into entertainment. It is not the same as watching a tennis game, and we shouldn’t make it be that way.”

The key difference between the UFC and Bellator last Saturday night, according to Kogan, was that Bellator featured their stars prominently, while incorporating lights, music and video to add to the overall atmosphere of the evening’s action.

“What makes stars shine, besides fighting well, is allowing the audience to connect to their personalities and you can’t do that unless you are able to shine through it.”

Now that Scott Coker has brought about the “rebirth” of Bellator, Kogan believes this can only be beneficial to the sport overall. Competition between promotions will eventually lead to a healthy environment for fighters to grow in and find their actual market value.

“It is important for the sport,” Kogan explained. “Of course you need another organization. You need to have another platform where fighters can go fight. What you shouldn’t have is every idiot who can con somebody into giving them $10 million getting into the MMA game. They should go find something else to invest in. But when you have a solid promoter like Scott [Coker] with a giant like Viacom, why is that a bad thing?”