Coker is regarded as a pioneer in MMA after being instrumental in the rise of former promotion Strikeforce.<\/p>\n
Coker points to former UFC stars such as Daniel Cormier and Ronda Rousey as examples of fighters where he helped build their brand from scratch.<\/p>\n
Cormier debuted in Strikeforce before winning UFC titles at light-heavyweight and heavyweight in a distinguished career.<\/p>\n
Rousey, meanwhile, had fought two professional bouts prior to being signed by Coker, before going on to become one of the biggest MMA stars of all time.<\/p>\n
Coker says his Ki MMA team have been searching gyms in cities such as Tokyo and Paris looking for “diamonds in the rough”.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think anyone has built stars from scratch like we have in the past,” said Coker.<\/p>\n
“We will be in the star building business and the star searching business and that’s what we’re doing, searching for diamonds in the rough. We’re gonna go mining.<\/p>\n
“This is going to be a long distance race and take several years to build this group of fighters but the tournament speeds up the process.”<\/p>\n
Coker, who was born in South Korea, describes Ki as an East Asian word which means the “inner energy and spiritual journey of martial arts”.<\/p>\n