Ahead of Scott Coker’s official announcement of his new MMA promotion, Mike Bohn from MMA Junkie has reported that the new company will be named “Ki MMA”. In Ki MMA, fights will take place inside a ring instead of a cage. Coker is having a press conference at 6:00 p.m. ET to unveil the promotion. Coker is known for his time as the founder and CEO of Strikeforce and CEO of Bellator. After PFL purchased Bellator, Coker resigned in 2024.
In 2011, Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the UFC, bought Strikeforce, ending Coker’s tenure as head of the promotion. After his contract ended in 2014, Coker joined Bellator as their new CEO. Coker had a successful 10 years with the promotion, but it ended in 2024. A few months after leaving Bellator, Coker hosted an event, “Fight Night at the Tech,” but hasn’t been involved in the sport since.
Over the last few months, Coker has begun building the infrastructure for this new promotion. Coker is joined by Peter Levin (co-founder and chairman of the board), Rich Chou (EVP, Athlete Relations), Kevin Kay (Chief Content Officer), Tom Fox (Chief Operating Officer), Paolo Boccotti (EVP, European Production and Operations), Lawrence Stuart (EVP, Media Rights and Business Development), Chris DeBlasio (EVP, Global Head of Communications). This promotion has already received $60 million in financing from Creator Sports Capital, Griffin Gaming Partners, Upper Deck, Steve Kaplan, Swimmy Minami, Tony Hawk, and Dean Dakolias.
Ki MMA will begin with a Featherweight tournament featuring 32 fighters across four continents.
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