Scott Coker Says MMA Is "In a Funk." His New $60 Million Promotion Plans to Fix That

Scott Coker went on the Ariel Helwani Show this week and basically said "I'm coming back and I'm bringing everybody with me."

The man who built Strikeforce from scratch. The man who ran Bellator for a decade. The man who launched Ronda Rousey, Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, Nick Diaz, and Cris Cyborg before any of them ever touched the UFC. That man just announced a new MMA promotion with $60 million in funding, Tony Hawk as an investor, and an executive team that reads like a heist movie where every person on the crew was specifically chosen because they're the best at one thing.

The promotion doesn't even have a name yet. And it's already the most interesting thing happening in MMA outside the cage.

The Superteam

Let me walk you through the hires because the names tell the whole story.

Kevin Kay. Chief Content Officer. This is the big one. Kay was the president of Spike TV when The Ultimate Fighter launched in 2005. TUF is literally credited with saving the UFC from bankruptcy. The reality show that turned the UFC from a struggling promotion into a mainstream sport was built under this man's watch. And now he's working for the guy who's trying to compete with the UFC. The man who helped save the UFC is now helping build its next competitor. You cannot write a better storyline than that.

Rich Chou. Athlete Relations. Chou was the matchmaker at Bellator under Coker. Before that he worked at Strikeforce, Elite XC, and Rumble on the Rock. This man has relationships with every gym, every manager, and every free agent in the sport. When Coker's promotion starts signing fighters, Chou is the guy making the calls. And he already knows everybody's number.

Tom Fox. Chief Operations Officer. Fox comes from Gatorade and Nike. Not MMA. Not combat sports. Mainstream corporate infrastructure. The kind of executive who knows how to scale a brand globally, build sponsorship deals, and create the kind of commercial framework that turns a fight promotion into a business. This is the hire that tells you Coker isn't building a regional promotion. He's building a company.

Paolo Boccotti. Executive VP of European Production. European expansion from day one. Not an afterthought. Not "maybe we'll go international in year three." Boccotti is building the European pipeline right now before the first event even happens.

Peter Levin. Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board. The money and strategy side. Levin brings the business infrastructure that keeps the $60 million funded and the investors happy.

That's the team. The TUF creator, the Bellator matchmaker, a Nike executive, a European expansion specialist and Tony Hawk's money. Scott Coker running the whole thing man.

"MMA Is in a Funk Right Now"

Scott Coker said something on the Helwani Show that I think a lot of fans have been feeling but couldn't put into words.

"I feel like there's a little bit of a funk in the MMA space right now. And I don't know what it is. But I just feel it's got a funk to it right now. So, you know, let's go stir it up."

Then he pointed at MVP's Netflix card as proof.

"The thing with MVP, their show, they're stirring it up. It gets people excited. It gets people to root for somebody. And we're gonna do the same. People are gonna root for us too, and we're gonna go stir it up."

He's not wrong about the funk. The UFC's biggest stars keep leaving. The CEO makes $67 million while fighters need side hustles. The White House card was supposed to be the greatest event ever and the criticism has been louder than the hype. MVP just broke every viewership record on their first try. Fighters are trying to escape their contracts. The sport feels like it's at a crossroads and Coker sees the opening.

The Plan

Twelve events in 2027. Eighteen in 2028. Twenty two in 2029. American, European, and Asian markets. Super fights as the foundation with one tournament per year mixed in.

"I grew up in a martial arts school where you compete and everybody lines up in a tournament. There's sixteen fighters and you go compete until you have one person left," Coker told Helwani. "We're not gonna be a tournament-only. No, we're going to put on great super fights. There's only going to be one tournament and the rest of the card will be filled out by traditional fights."

That's a direct shot at PFL which has built its entire identity around tournament formats. Coker is saying "we're not doing that." He wants the model that made Strikeforce work. Big names fighting each other on stacked cards. Not brackets. Not seasonal formats. Just good fights with good promotion and good production.

The $60 million in initial financing came through Creator Sports Capital. Tony Hawk is in. NFL and NBA franchise owners are reportedly involved. Additional investors and partners haven't been announced yet but Coker hinted that more names are coming.

No broadcast deal announced. No promotion name announced. No fighters announced. But the executive team, the money, and the three year scaling plan are all public. This is real. This isn't a press release with no substance behind it.

Why This Is Different From Every Other "UFC Killer"

MMA has seen a lot of promotions launch with big promises and bigger failures. EliteXC. Affliction. IFL. World Series of Fighting. Promotions with money and names that couldn't survive more than a few years because they didn't have the infrastructure or the talent pipeline to compete long term.

But Coker has done this before. Twice.

Strikeforce wasn't an accident. It wasn't a flash in the pan. Coker built it from regional shows in San Jose to national television on Showtime. He developed Rousey, Cormier, Rockhold, Melendez, and Lawler. When the UFC bought Strikeforce in 2011, they absorbed an entire roster of future champions because Coker had already done the development work.

Bellator wasn't an accident either. Coker took over in 2014 and turned it into the clear #2 promotion in MMA. Built a roster around Michael Chandler, Patricio Pitbull, AJ McKee, Ryan Bader, and Gegard Mousasi. Landed a deal with Paramount. Made it viable for a decade.

PFL absorbed Bellator. Coker left. And instead of retiring, the man used his downtime to evaluate the sport, run regional events, and build a team of people who've been waiting for him to call.

"I have a strong relationship with many MMA gyms," Coker told reporters. He doesn't need to explain what that means. Every gym in the sport knows what Coker did for fighters at Strikeforce and Bellator. When he starts calling, people are going to answer.

The MMA Landscape in 2026

Step back and look at what the UFC is facing right now.

MVP just broke the all time US viewership record on Netflix and said they're "100% in the MMA business." They're targeting McGregor. They're planning MMA 2 for later this year.

PFL has a global roster and is expanding into new markets.

RAF wrestling has become the place where UFC fighters go to stay active on the side. Chimaev, Tsarukyan, Covington, Steveson. All competing outside the Octagon.

BKFC has McGregor as part owner, Till just debuted, and Perry is the King of Violence drawing mainstream attention.

And now Scott Coker is entering the mix with $60 million, the guy who created TUF, the Bellator matchmaker, a Nike executive, and Tony Hawk.

The UFC has never faced this many organized, funded, well-staffed competitors at the same time. Not even close. In 2015 the only real alternative was Bellator and Coker was running that too. Now there are five or six viable promotions all targeting different pieces of the UFC's audience and talent pool simultaneously.

Coker said the sport is "in a funk." He's right. But the funk isn't because MMA is dying. The funk is because one company has controlled the sport for so long that the sport stopped feeling exciting. When MVP broke records on Netflix, fans got excited. When Coker announced his return, fighters got excited. The appetite for alternatives is real. The demand exists.

The question isn't whether Coker's promotion will succeed. The question is whether the UFC can keep losing talent, losing eyeballs, and losing the narrative while pretending everything is fine.

The man who launched Rousey, Cormier, and Rockhold is hiring the man who created The Ultimate Fighter. That sentence alone should keep Dana up at night.

Thanks for riding with CageLore. Stay locked in!

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Scott Coker?

Coker is a veteran MMA promoter who founded Strikeforce in 1985 and sold it to the UFC in 2011. He then served as president of Bellator from 2014 until PFL absorbed the promotion. He is widely credited with developing fighters like Ronda Rousey, Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, and Nick Diaz before they reached the UFC.

What is the new promotion?

Coker's new MMA promotion has not been named yet. It has $60 million in initial financing through Creator Sports Capital with investors including Tony Hawk and NFL and NBA franchise owners. It is targeting a 2027 launch with 12 events in its first year.

Who is on the executive team?

Scott Coker (CEO), Peter Levin (Chairman), Kevin Kay (Chief Content Officer, former Spike TV president who launched TUF), Tom Fox (COO, former Gatorade and Nike executive), Rich Chou (Athlete Relations, former Bellator matchmaker), and Paolo Boccotti (European Production).

Why is Kevin Kay's hire significant?

Kay was the president of Spike TV when The Ultimate Fighter launched in 2005. TUF is widely credited with saving the UFC from financial collapse and introducing MMA to a mainstream American audience. The man who helped build the UFC's foundation is now helping build a competitor.

What is the promotion's plan?

Twelve events in 2027, eighteen in 2028, and twenty two in 2029 across American, European, and Asian markets. The format will feature super fights as the primary content with one tournament per year. This distinguishes it from PFL's tournament heavy model.

What did Coker say about the current state of MMA?

Coker told the Ariel Helwani Show "I feel like there's a little bit of a funk in the MMA space right now" and praised MVP's Netflix card for "stirring it up." He vowed his promotion would do the same.