Scott Coker plans to build his new MMA promotion around a grand prix tournament in a single weight class while buying established free agents from the top down, the same blueprint he used to grow Strikeforce.
The veteran promoter detailed the strategy in an interview with Scott Fontana of the New York Post, days after announcing the new venture with $60 million in backing. Coker said the tournament structure and free-agent spending will work together rather than as competing approaches.
“The tournament format is gonna build new stars, but also we’re gonna buy free agents from the top down, just like we built Strikeforce,” Coker said.
He pointed to the careers his Strikeforce front office launched alongside the marquee names it acquired. “Strikeforce was a league that we built from the bottom up. Which means we signed Daniel Cormier, who had no fights. Ronda Rousey. No fights. We had all these great fighters that had no fights and we built their careers, but we also bought, let’s say Fedor’s contract,” Coker said.
Coker said proven talent will be “sprinkled in” with developing fighters in the new promotion. He has described the approach as “fighter procurement,” calling it a strength of his front offices at both Strikeforce and Bellator.
Coker Targets January 2027 Launch
Coker is aiming to debut in January 2027, and not with a single card. “It’s going to be bang-bang-bang, bang-bang-bang,” he told the New York Post. “It’s going to be a gauntlet of events that we produce in the first half of the year.”
He is targeting 12 events in 2027, followed by 18 in 2028 and 22 in 2029, with shows planned across the United States as well as European and Asian markets. The first-year tournament will crown a champion in one marquee division and feature a field Coker says will run “way north of eight,” larger than the eight-fighter grand prix he staged at Strikeforce and Bellator.
The promotion enters a crowded market. The UFC remains the sport’s dominant force, the PFL absorbed Coker’s former home Bellator in a late 2023 sale, and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions staged its first MMA card on Netflix earlier this month. Coker’s plan to outbid for established talent mirrors a wider push by newer promotions, with Jake Paul detailing his own plan to raid the UFC roster.