Scott Coker teases Douglas Lima vs. Neiman Gracie

Bellator president Scott Coker suggested that promotional welterweight champion Douglas Lima could take on Neiman Gracie in his next fight.

Lima recently moved up to middleweight in a failed effort to become a two-division champion in Bellator when he lost a unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi. Lima is expected to move back to 170lbs for his next fight, and fighters such as Michael Page and Lorenz Larkin have been teased as potential opponents. But it looks like Bellator has another fight in mind for Lima following his recent loss to Mousasi.

Speaking to Combate, Coker said that while he thought Lima performed well against Mousasi at middleweight, he will defend his welterweight title in his next fight, and one possible opponent for his next title defense is not Page, but Gracie.

“Douglas Lima is one of my favorite fighters today. I love the combination of skills and how dangerous it is. He lost to Gegard Mousasi, who is a killer, has been fighting for centuries, but he is a very tough guy, who loves challenges, who accepted to face a guy from the top category just to challenge himself. And you know what? I thought it went well. If he had more blows and moved more, he might have taken that fight, because Gegard couldn’t walk, he left with a crutch that day. And Douglas managed to hit many blows inside the guard, the kicks were working, but I felt that in the first rounds he held himself a little and ended up being knocked over. He did well in the top division, but at welterweight, I think Neiman Gracie can be a good challenge for him,” Coker said.

Most fans are eager to see a rematch between Lima and Page, especially considering all of the trash-talking from Page in the media as of late, but it looks like Bellator has other plans. Coming off of a decision win over Jon Fitch, it looks like Coker and Bellator are going to give Gracie the chance to take the belt.

Do you want Scott Coker to book Douglas Lima vs. Neiman Gracie or would you rather see Lima fight someone else?