"And that show," Coker said of the Conquest FC event, "would not be happening today." Now, McKee is 16-0, was ESPN's 2019 top MMA fighter under 25 years old and remains a cornerstone of Bellator's future. Just over a month later, Coker signed a deal to promote Bellator - and signing McKee was one of his early transactions.
"I said, 'I've gotta sign this kid,'" Coker told ESPN. At Jackson's Conquest FC event, McKee, then 19, ran through Abraham Nava via second-round submission. But that night in Orange County, he decided that no matter where he landed, he wanted A.J. Coker, the former Strikeforce president and founder, was also considering starting his own promotion again.Ĭoker wasn't sure what his next step would be. He was in talks with Spike TV executive Kevin Kay about taking over as president of Bellator MMA, which was owned by Spike parent company Viacom.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was promoting an amateur MMA card that night, and Coker went with a friend to see Jackson.Īt the time, Coker, the longtime combat sports promoter, was a free agent. Scott Coker was sitting in the stands at the Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, California. MMA, boxing and wrestling are all facing a major issue: a cracked combat sports pipeline You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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