NEW YORK — In a combat sports world dominated by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Scott Coker is bullish about carving out a piece of mixed martial arts for himself – again.
Two decades after delivering the first regulated mixed fighting event in California, drawing a crowd of 18,265 to the HP Pavilion in San Jose on March 10, 2006, for the debut of Strikeforce MMA, the 63-year-old California-based Coker unveiled the next phase of his martial arts adventure on Monday in Manhattan’s Financial District.
Drawing on his martial arts roots, the 9th degree black belt in taekwondo and fight promoter the past 40 years is making a well-capitalized attempt to disrupt MMA by launching “Ki MMA” in the first quarter of 2027.
Joining forces with media and fight industry executives, several of whom he worked with in the past, Coker said after serving as the president of Bellator MMA from 2014 to 2024 that he is eager to take on the challenge of convincing fans and fighters that an event besides the UFC can deliver on the global stage.
“I feel rested. I feel ready. I’ve got a great team. I’ve got proper financing behind us. We have every relationship in the book. There’s nobody we can’t call,” Coker said. “I think people respect us. They’re going to want to be treated fairly and with respect as a fighter, a martial artist, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Built around a tournament format, which was the norm in the early days of MMA, the inaugural Ki MMA 32-man single-elimination World Grand Prix is slated to showcase featherweight talent from North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
Each continent pits eight competitors against one another, with the respective winners advancing to a World Grand Prix final that requires the champion to win twice on the same night to claim the prize.
Fights will unfold in a five-rope ring rather than a cage popularized by the UFC, harkening back to the heyday of Japanese MMA.
Ki MMA intends to promote 13 events in 2027, Coker said, bringing events to possible locales including San Jose; Dublin, Ireland; Brazil; Japan; Korea; Italy and France.
The new organization’s media rights are currently in discussion with legacy and non-legacy distributors.
Scouting talent for the past three months with industry veteran Rich Chou, who worked for Coker at Strikeforce and Bellator, Ki MMA will focus on young fighters with fewer than 10 fights aged 18-25 as well as known quantities available via free agency.
Just a third of the fights next year will be tied to the tournament format.
“We’ll be looking to sign a lot of athletes in the next few months,” Coker said. “We have a budget that there’s not any free agent that’s untouchable. If you’re a free agent at the highest level, we have the ability to sign and fight you.”
Coker anticipates that young fighters who dream of a pathway to the UFC will be enticed by the possibility of making significantly more money with Ki MMA.
“It will be hundreds of thousands dollars more than fighting anywhere else in the world,” Coker said. “Money is going to talk and we’re going to let it be known money is going to talk and we’re going to be out there paying.”
In March, Coker and his partners announced the new venture had secured $60 million in financing.
On Monday, nearly 150 attendees, including current star Nate Diaz and an assortment of famous retirees such as Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Shamrock, supported the launch.
“It’s actually an honor to be here tonight to help a man I greatly respect usher in the next chapter of MMA history,” Couture said. “Scott Coker is unique among his peers as a promoter because he’s a lifelong martial artist. It gives him a keen understanding of what ‘ki’ really is.”
Coker was joined on stage at the event space Cipriani 25 Broadway by Chou, executive vice president of athlete relations, as well as Ki MMA co-founder and chairman Peter Y. Levin, who represented Couture among a group of fighters 25 years ago. Levin later served as an investor, advisor and confidant to Coker during the Strikeforce days.
“We’re building Ki MMA for the long term, with the resources, team and discipline to grow responsibly,” said Levin, who also stood up the video game business for LionsGate. “Scott’s track record of developing fighters into stars, combined with the experience of our investor and advisory group, gives us a strong foundation. Our focus is on creating a sports property that fans connect with, athletes can build their careers in and partners can grow alongside.”
Other executives include Kevin Kay, who greenlit the revolutionary “Ultimate Fighter” reality series for Spike TV in 2005.
Ki MMA CEO Tom Fox brings experience from the English Premier League, MLS, NBA Asia, Nike and Gatorade.
“We’re working with a top, top core group,” Coker said. “If you think about it, we only got funding 90 days ago and we were able to pull something like this off because everybody already knows what to do. I feel really good about the team. We’re just going to keep growing it and I think the sky is the limit.”