Scott Coker Plans To Launch Global MMA League In 2027, Tony Hawk Among Investors
Scott Coker is back.
Georg Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter reports that Scott Coker plans to launch a new global MMA league in 2027 that has $60 million in financial backing.
Funding is led by investment firm Creator Sports Capital, with participation from Griffin Gaming Partners and others. Additional investors include Upper Deck; Steve Kaplan, owner of D.C. United and co-founder of Oaktree Capital; Swimmy Minami, founder of Visional and a limited partner of the New York Yankees; skateboarding legend Tony Hawk; former Fortress Investment Group vice-chairman Dean Dakolias; and others, “including several with ownership stakes in both the NFL and NBA,” according to the founders.
The company’s advisory group features former TelevisaUnivision CEO and former Viacom CFO Wade Davis, former Sony Pictures Television chairman Steve Mosko, and Kevin Kay, the former president of Paramount Network, CMT, Spike TV and TV Land.
“I always knew I wanted to come back when the time was right, with the right vision and a carefully curated team. That time is now,” said Coker. “There is an incredible demand for a fresh, new global brand in MMA. This new league is about returning to what matters: the integrity of competition, respect for the athletes and sharing their remarkable journeys with the world. We are building something authentic, something that belongs to the athletes and to the fans who live and breathe this sport.”
Coker is the founder of Strikeforce, a competitor to UFC in the 2000s.
