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Former Bellator and Strikeforce boss Scott Coker has announced plans to launch a fight league next year that he hopes will become “the global brand in MMA.”
Coker said the project was backed by $60m (£44.7m) in funding. He said it would involve investors from across sports, media, technology and finance.
Coker, 63, is considered a pioneer in MMA after being instrumental in the rise of former promotion Strikeforce, which was bought by UFC parent company Zuffa in 2011.
His last major role was at Bellator, where he was president of the promotion until it was acquired by the PFL in late 2023.
“I always knew I would come back when the time was right, with the right vision and a carefully assembled team. That time has come,” said Coker, who will serve as the company’s CEO.
“There is a huge need for a new global brand in MMA. This new league is about getting back to the basics: the integrity of the competition, respect for the athletes and sharing their extraordinary journeys with the world.
“We’re creating something authentic, something that’s for the athletes and fans who live and breathe this sport.”
Details including the name of the organization, structure and athletes are yet to be announced.
The term ‘fight league’ suggests it may adopt a round-robin structure, as opposed to a ranking-based matchmaking model like the UFC.
While Coker’s last promotion, Bellator, struggled to rival the UFC’s popularity, his new project comes at a time when the sport’s landscape may be changing.
last week, Ronda Rousey defeated Gina Carano in 15 seconds In a fight that was televised by Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotion (MVP) and watched by a record 17 million viewers on Netflix.
Rousey and fighters like Cris Cyborg and Daniel Cormier built their brands on Coker’s Strikeforce before joining the UFC where they became champions and thrived.
Coker was also president of Strikeforce when Cyborg faced Carano in 2009 in the first women’s fight to headline a major MMA show.
