New North American MMA promotion Ki MMA to launch next year

A new global MMA promotion based in North America will launch early next year under the name Ki MMA.

Veteran promoter Scott Coker, who signaled his return to MMA in May, held a press conference in New York on Tuesday (Korean Standard Time) to unveil the promotion's name, format and other details.

According to the announcement, Ki MMA is set to officially launch in the first quarter of 2027 and will hold bouts in a ring rather than a cage. The promotion will also revive the traditional grand prix tournament format used by the UFC in the 1990s and Japan's Pride FC in the 2000s.

No fighters signed to Ki MMA were announced at the event. However, local media reported that a number of legends who competed under Coker's previous promotions — Strikeforce and Bellator — attended, including Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, Nate Diaz, Rich Franklin and Royce Gracie. Current PFL featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was also in attendance.

The name "Ki" refers to life energy. "I thought of 'Kiai' as a martial arts name — 'ki' is the energy of martial arts," Coker said. "I really love this name."

The first tournament will be held at featherweight (65.8 kilograms). Eight-fighter tournaments will take place across four continental regions — North America, South America, Asia and Europe — with the four continental champions then competing in a global grand final to determine an overall world champion.

Ki MMA will also bring back the "two bouts in one day" format once common in MMA events. In the past, some promotions ran so-called one-day tournaments in which the entire bracket was completed in a single day, with finalists fighting up to three times. The format has largely disappeared in recent years due to injury risks and the unpredictability they create.

While tournaments will be Ki MMA's core content, not every bout on a card will be part of one. Tournament bouts are expected to make up roughly one-third of the total matchups.

Coker said the promotion would move aggressively to sign fighters. "The first featherweight tournament is a generational project aimed at discovering young talent and developing the next generation of stars," he said. "We're going to sign a lot of fighters over the next few months. Given the size of our budget, there is no free agent we can't sign."