Scott Coker launches Ki MMA with 32-fighter featherweight tournament for 2027 debut

Scott Coker told BBC Sport on 6 October 2026 that he has "something else to give" and unfinished business as he launched a new mixed martial arts promotion, Ki MMA, which is set to hold its first event in 2027.

Ki MMA is Coker's first venture since he left the presidency of Bellator, which was acquired by the PFL in 2023. Since that takeover the PFL has phased out the Bellator brand before merging with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, and the future of the former promotion remains unclear. The UFC is in the first year of a seven-year broadcast deal with Paramount and has faced criticism about fighter pay and matchmaking in the past 12 months. Coker, 63, said he saw the timing as right to re-enter the sport.

The promotion will run a 32-fighter featherweight tournament and stage events across North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Ki MMA also plans to feature super fights involving established names within MMA, and Coker said he was looking to sign free agents "in around two to three months". The project is backed by $60m (£44.7m) in funding, and Coker promised that "fighters will come first and we'll treat them with respect".

Coker is regarded as a pioneer in MMA after playing a key role in the rise of the former promotion Strikeforce. He pointed to fighters whose careers he helped build, including Daniel Cormier, who debuted in Strikeforce before winning UFC titles at light-heavyweight and heavyweight, and Ronda Rousey. Rousey won the Strikeforce bantamweight title before joining the UFC in 2013.

Coker said his Ki MMA team has been searching gyms in cities such as Tokyo and Paris for what he called "diamonds in the rough." He added: "I don't think anyone has built stars from scratch like we have in the past." He expanded on that approach: "We will be in the star building business and the star searching business and that's what we're doing, searching for diamonds in the rough. We're gonna go mining." He also warned that "This is going to be a long distance race and take several years to build this group of fighters but the tournament speeds up the process."

Born in South Korea, Coker described Ki as an East Asian word meaning the "inner energy and spiritual journey of martial arts" and referred to Japan as "the birthplace of MMA," saying he wanted the new promotion to reflect that heritage. A notable rule change he proposes is staging Ki MMA fights in a ring rather than a cage; while cages are used largely to prevent fighters falling out and to keep action flowing, Coker argued they can hinder viewing. "I'm sitting right at the cage, and once they go to the side, I end up watching the whole fight on the big screen," he said, adding: "With the ring you have better viewing and more action because a fighter can't hold you against the cage and control you."

Coker said some details still need to be finalised but that he was aiming to hold Ki MMA's first event early in 2027, and reiterated his intention to sign free agents "in around two to three months" as the promotion prepares to recruit and build its initial roster.