{"id":656715,"date":"2026-05-21T16:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/656715\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T16:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T16:11:09","slug":"new-mma-league-from-scott-coker-gets-financing-from-tony-hawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/656715\/","title":{"rendered":"New MMA League From Scott Coker Gets Financing From Tony Hawk"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIs the mixed martial arts world ready for a new global challenger? Former Bellator<\/a> boss and Strikeforce founder Scott Coker thinks so, and so does a group of strategic investors across sports, media, technology and finance providing $60 million in financial backing. So, TKO Group\u2019s UFC, led by Dana White, and Bellator MMA<\/a> will want to watch out.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter nearly four decades shaping the global combat sports landscape, Coker is back to lead a new MMA league venture with funding led by investment firm Creator Sports Capital and 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, \u201cincluding several with ownership stakes in both the NFL and NBA,\u201d according to the founders.<\/p>\n

\n\tCoker will serve as co-founder and CEO of the still unnamed company, whose global debut is eyed for early 2027. Peter Levin of Griffin Gaming Partners will serve as co-founder and chairman of the board.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe company\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe timing of the unveiling of the plans for a new MMA league comes as the sport has grown into a $20 billion-plus global market with more than 625 million fans worldwide, driven by the highly coveted male 18\u201334 demographic. \u201cYet despite that growth, professional athletes across more than 40 countries lack a clear pathway to career advancement and access to elite competition, a gap the new league is being built to close,\u201d the founders highlighted. It wants to \u201cset a new standard for the sport and place athletes firmly at the center of the global MMA ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe founders pointed to Coker\u2019s track record of discovering and developing the careers of such MMA legends as Daniel Cormier, Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPeter Levin (left) and Scott Coker (right), courtesy of MMA venture founders<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of new MMA venture backers<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI 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,\u201d said Coker. \u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLevin served as both an advisor and investor in Strikeforce, which was sold to UFC in 2011. \u201cScott is a generational operator in the world of combat sports,\u201d said Levin. \u201cHe has proven time and again that he can scale a business globally and profitably. His \u2018fighter-first\u2019 orientation has earned him loyalty and admiration from MMA athletes around the globe and across generations. He\u2019s a world-beater, and I\u2019m looking forward, yet again, to embarking on this journey together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLevin\u2019s sports track record also includes\u00a0previously representing such MMA competitors as Randy \u201cThe Natural\u201d Couture and Quinton \u201cRampage\u201d Jackson, and investing in the likes of the World Golf Tour, Par 3 golf league Grass League<\/a>, Major League Volleyball and Welsh soccer club Swansea City A.F.C.<\/p>\n

\n\tAdded Benjamin Grubbs, co-founder and co-managing partner of Creator Sports Capital: \u201cScott Coker is one of the few operators in combat sports who has built winning franchises at a global scale, and he has done it by putting athletes first. The sport has reached a moment where a generation of world-class talent deserves a clear path to the top, and Scott has the experience, the relationships and the vision to deliver it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThe full leadership team of the new league is expected to be named in the coming weeks. Additional details, including the league name, its structure and different format, region and athlete participation, and event schedules, are also planned to be revealed in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Is the mixed martial arts world ready for a new global challenger? Former Bellator boss and Strikeforce founder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[115335,2091,6995,99],"class_list":["post-656715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-bellator","tag-international","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}