Which fighters can Ki MMA sign? Exploring Scott Coker's options
Ki MMA is Scott Coker's latest creation, and while it looks to be an interesting homage to the bygone era of Japanese MMA, it still needs fighters.
Scott Coker's Ki MMA is off to a good start. Before having a single event, it's already making proposed changes to the MMA rule-set to differentiate itself from other promotions. However, what it really needs is a marketable roster of fighters.
Who are the fighters Scott Coker can sign?
Ever since he created Ki MMA, Scott Coker has received praise from several figures. Some have praised him as a promoter and businessman, while others have hailed his efforts to reintroduce knees to the head of a grounded opponent, just like in the days of PRIDE FC, which is what Ki MMA is modeling itself after. However, of those who have praised him, are any of them fighters who have shown interest in his new promotion? As it turns out, yes. There's WMMA legend Cris Cyborg, who has teased a potential move to Ki MMA and has twice fought in promotions that Coker ran, like Strikeforce and Bellator.
Cyborg is currently a free agent, having recently fought out of her PFL contract at PFL Tampa, where she defeated Ketlen Vieira via unanimous decision. Having held the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, PFL, and Invicta FC women's featherweight belts, she is the only quintuple champion in MMA history and is among the greatest WMMA fighters of all time. Currently on a 10-fight win streak, she could easily be the face of Ki MMA's women's divisions. Another free agent that Ki MMA could sign is none other than former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who is on an 8-fight win streak and recently knocked out Philipe Lins in round one at MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano.
The ability to claim that they have, arguably, the best heavyweight in the world would be a major win for Coker, as 'The Predator' is one of only two fighters to have ever beaten reigning UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. Speaking of champions, there's current PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, who, despite holding the promotion's belt, fought out of his contract at PFL New York with a first-round knockout of Archie Colgan. While the PFL will be determined to re-sign him, there's no reason Ki MMA can't leave its own offer at the table. After all, Nurmagomedov is familiar with Coker, having fought under him at Bellator.
Another fighter who has worked with Coker and is not tied to another promotion, due to the GFL's collpse, is Gegard Mousasi. One of the more exciting signees could be the undefeated Farid Basharat, who the UFC did not re-sign, to the recent shock of many. Basharat is in his prime and 16-0. He'd certainly help improve Ki MMA's standing in the lighter divisions. Other available fighters are ex-UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik, ex-UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson, and ex-UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, all three of whom are not signed to any MMA promotion.
Whether Coker can pull all of this off remains to be seen, as the alternative is banking on the discovery of future high-level talent that are still fighting in the regional scene.
