Coker Says Ki MMA Can Build Star In One Year

Scott Coker told MMA Junkie his new promotion Ki MMA can produce a recognizable fighter in 12 months through its tournament structure.

Coker unveiled Ki MMA at a New York press conference last week, detailing the 2027 launch of a venture built around old-school competition formats. The promotion draws its name from the Japanese term for spirit and energy, and fights will take place in a ring rather than a cage.

The inaugural event features a 32-fighter featherweight Grand Prix split across four continents. Eight-man brackets in North America, South America, Asia and Europe will each produce a regional winner, with those four advancing to a final night where two will fight twice to crown the first titleholder.

Coker framed the structure as a faster path to stardom than the standard one-fight-per-quarter approach. "By the end of the year, we will have a star, and we will have a new champion," he said, per MMA Junkie. "Yes, will the fighters have to dig deep because of fighting two times in one night at the end? That's going to be tough, but that's why you've got to have your ki together."

Coker first announced the project in May and has since brought on former ESPN and NFL Network executives to the promotion's leadership team. Ki MMA begins competition in 2027.