Rich Chou revealed how Scott Coker sold him on his vision for his new promotion, Ki MMA. Chou opened up about his decision to join Coker’s team and help build a new promotion from the ground up.
Ki MMA held its launch event, where they unveiled their name, logo, and format.
Chou, who previously worked as one of the matchmakers at Bellator under Coker, expressed excitement for what is in store. He revealed that he met with Coker, who sold him on his vision and aspirations for Ki MMA.
Chou stressed that creating an original identity was crucial for Ki MMA’s success. After his meeting with Coker, the former Bellator matchmaker was on board with joining the promotion.
Rich Chou Reveals How Scott Coker Sold Him on His Ki MMA Vision
According to Rich Chou, he did not need much convincing to work with Scott Coker again. On the contrary, it was more a matter of determining what Ki MMA’s identity would be.
“[Coker] had been hinting to me that he was working on something. I didn’t realize, in fact, he was working on something very serious and had been doing it under the radar, low-key, for quite some time,” Chou exclusively told Heavy Sports via The Game Plan.
“I was pleasantly surprised and pretty blown away, to be honest, and yeah, then we started some serious conversations around working together again. And that took some time. He didn’t need to convince me to work with him again,” Chou said. “Our relationship has always been good, I consider Scott family. I know he’s a good person who loves the business and loves the sport. It was more about what can we do differently this time? I didn’t want to come back and just do the same old thing.”
Chou Reveals How Coker Outlined His Plans
Chou also revealed how Coker outlined his plans for Ki MMA. He liked the idea of building something new and embraced the challenge that came with it.
“I think the exciting thing and also the challenging part of it is that we could build something from scratch. To me, that was very intriguing. We have an opportunity here to have an empty canvas and we can paint our own masterpiece now, and do it our way,” Chou exclusively told Heavy Sports via The Game Plan.
Chou explained how Ki MMA is much different from Bellator. He noted that Bellator was inherited rather than being an upstart promotion.
“Bellator was not ours, so to speak. We inherited a company that had already been in existence, had already done several shows, and kind of had established itself already,” Chou said. “Again, I think it all comes from the fact that we can build something from the ground up. That’s very exciting, but it’s also very difficult.”
He continued:
“When I hear that, I thought ‘Okay, that’s intriguing. Now you got me. You have my attention.’ Because I do feel like so much has changed over the years, even from the Bellator days. Things move fast in this business. Things move fast in media, social media, and so, I put my input into it. But he already had a strong vision in place.”
Rich Chou Reveals How Scott Coker Sold Him on His Ki MMA Vision: Exclusive