\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like there\u2019s a little bit of a funk in the MMA space right now,\u201d Coker told Ariel Helwani. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know what it is. But, I just feel it\u2019s it\u2019s got a funk to it right now. So, you know, let\u2019s go stir it up. The thing with MVP, their show, they\u2019re stirring it up. It gets people excited. It gets people to root for somebody. And then we\u2019re we\u2019re gonna do the same. People are gonna root for us too, and we\u2019re gonna go stir it up. So to me, I think the sport needs a little bit of shaking the cage \u2014 and that\u2019s something that we\u2019re really good at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coker\u2019s leadership team includes Kevin Kay, Chief Content Officer (Paramount Network, Spike TV), Tom Fox, Chief Operating Officer (Gatorade, NBA Properties, Arsenal), Rich Chou, Executive Vice President, Athlete Relations (Strikeforce, Bellator MMA), and Chris DeBlasio, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Communications (Showtime Sports), among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe turned away $40 million,\u201d Coker added. \u201cI said, \u2018No, we don\u2019t want it.\u2019 Because I don\u2019t want to be diluted to where I don\u2019t control the company. This isn\u2019t going to be my company the way I want to run it \u2026 I don\u2019t want to be in a situation where I\u2019m going to be losing control of this company because I don\u2019t ever want that to happen. So, we turned them away. There\u2019s a learning curve in this business, and if you don\u2019t know it, you\u2019re gonna be paying crazy money out because you don\u2019t know it. And you know what? I\u2019ve been in the business almost four decades, or over four decades now. I know this business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether or not he knows enough to stay afloat remains to be seen.<\/p>\n