Scott Coker will pull back the curtain on his new MMA league in a livestream on Monday, September 14. Coker, co-founder and board chairman Peter Levin, and executive vice president of athlete relations Rich Chou will host the brand launch event live on the All The Smoke Fight YouTube channel.
The stream starts at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT. That’s 7 p.m. in Rio de Janeiro, and midnight in Paris and 7 a.m. in Tokyo the following day, according to the promotional artwork. The graphic bills the event as a first look at the group’s “vision for the future of mixed martial arts.”
MMA Mania previously reported that the launch event will be held in New York City. All The Smoke Fight, run by All The Smoke Productions, inherited the former Showtime Sports and Showtime Boxing accounts.
The Biggest Questions Still Open
The league still hasn’t announced a name or a broadcast partner. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show in June, Coker said the promotion will debut in January 2027. He added that a broadcast deal is expected before the end of this year.
According to Uncrowned, the goal is a 150-fighter roster filling at least 12 events in year one, with 24 events per year as the longer-term target. Coker has also said there will be only one tournament in 2027, with the rest of the cards built around super fights.
In an August interview with MMA Island, Coker laid out a first-quarter schedule spanning four regions.
“You’ll see an event in Asia, you’ll see an event in Europe, you’ll see an event in San Jose,” Coker said. “And you’ll see an event in one territory that we’re gonna announce soon.”
A Strikeforce Reunion Backed By $60 Million
Levin, of Griffin Gaming Partners, advised and invested in Strikeforce before the UFC bought it in 2011. Chou’s history with Coker runs through both Strikeforce and Bellator, and the two scouted gyms in France together this summer, with Coker telling MMA Island they found “some killers over there.”
The venture launched in May with $60 million in financing led by Creator Sports Capital. The leadership team also includes chief content officer Kevin Kay, chief operating officer Tom Fox and Chris DeBlasio, the former Showtime Sports executive serving as executive vice president and global head of communications.
Jake Paul’s MVP Is Now A Direct Rival
Not everyone is buying in. Jake Paul, whose Most Valuable Promotions staged its first MMA event on Netflix in May, took aim at the project on X shortly after it was announced.
“Need to see the investors backing this and let them know that they gonna lose all their money – I feel like Superman trying to help them,” Paul wrote.
Paul’s company has since become a far bigger obstacle. MVP merged with the PFL on July 30, taking in the promotion that acquired Bellator in 2023 while Coker was still running it. John Martin, who leads the combined company as CEO, told Home of Fight the product will switch to MVP branding in January 2027, the same month Coker plans to debut.
