Bellator MMA boss invites Meryl Streep to a fight after Golden Globes dig
by Will Robinson
This article originally appeared on EW.com.
Meryl Streep delivered one of the highlights from Sunday’s 74th Golden Globe Awards with an impassioned acceptance speech for the Cecil B. Demille Award, but there was a minor dig in it that earned the actress an invite to the octagon.
In her stirring speech, Streep criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s bullying rhetoric and advocated for diversity, especially of non-American actors. “Hollywood is a bunch of people from other places,” she said, “crawling with outsiders and foreigners, so if you kick them all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.”
Scott Coker, president of Bellator MMA, used the minor diss as a way to offer up his sport to the three-time Oscar winner and expose her to the brutal contest’s technical prowess.
“Meryl, I’m a lifelong fan of your work but also a lifelong martial artist who happens to promote mixed martial arts around the world. The global sport of mixed martial arts celebrates male and female athletes from all around the world who work years tirelessly honing their craft and — yes — art,” Coker wrote, comparing his field to Streep’s. “They come from every country and every walk of life. We at Bellator support them and honor their skill. Please be my guest at the LA Forum on January 21st and you will see that Mixed Martial Arts is truly artistic — which will feature fighters from all over the world competing at a world class level.”
That bout in Hollywood’s backyard will feature two alums of the UFC — Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen — squaring off in the main card.
Read Streep’s full speech here.
