Story perspectives

Scott Coker Launches $60 M Global MMA League 2027

5/22/2026

Summary

Coker Launches MMA

Former Bellator president Scott Coker announced a new global mixed-martial-arts league slated for an early 2027 debut.
The league raised $60 million, led by Creator Sports Capital and Griffin Gaming Partners.
Investors include Upper Deck, Steve Kaplan, Oaktree Capital, Tony Hawk and Dean Dakolias.
Coker will be co-founder and CEO, with Peter Levin as co-founder and chairman.
The league says it will create a clear athlete pathway and prioritize competition integrity.

Summary

Coker Launches GFL

Scott Coker, former Strikeforce and Bellator exec, is launching an MMA promotion to challenge the UFC and MVP MMA.
The advisory board includes former Viacom CFO Wade Davis and former Spike TV exec Kevin Kay.
Bellator folded after its 2023 acquisition by the Professional Fighters League, leaving Coker without a legacy brand.
The Global Fighting League’s 2027 debut adds talent-acquisition pressure.
Coker promotes a fighter-first stance to attract top athletes.

Summary

Coker Secures Funding

The new MMA promotion secured investors including skateboarding icon Tony Hawk and owners of NFL and NBA teams.
Swimmy Minami, Visional founder and limited partner of the New York Yankees, also joined as a financier.
Upper Deck, a leading trading-card firm, entered the funding group, indicating collectibles-sector interest.
The diverse investor mix may shape the league’s branding and marketing beyond traditional fight-promotion models.

History

Historical Context

Founded in 1993, the UFC turned tournaments into a televised sport, faced Senator John McCain’s 1996 criticism, added weight classes in 1997, and was bought by Zuffa in 2001, which sold to Endeavor for $4.025 billion in 2016. The 2023 UFC-WWE merger into TKO shows the consolidation that the Global Fighting League’s 2027 launch, backed by Tony Hawk, aims to challenge.

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Coker Launches MMA

Former Bellator president Scott Coker announced a new global mixed-martial-arts league slated for an early 2027 debut.
The league raised $60 million, led by Creator Sports Capital and Griffin Gaming Partners.
Investors include Upper Deck, Steve Kaplan, Oaktree Capital, Tony Hawk and Dean Dakolias.
Coker will be co-founder and CEO, with Peter Levin as co-founder and chairman.
The league says it will create a clear athlete pathway and prioritize competition integrity.

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