NEW YORK – Rich Chou doesn't like keeping secrets. It wasn't easy, but this time he had to.
Back in the matchmaking game after an entrepreneurial and management journey, Chou is one of the company figureheads for Ki MMA, which launched Monday.
Chou, who worked previously for Strikeforce and Bellator, reenters the space knowing the challenge ahead of him may be the most difficult to date, particularly with an ambitious 32-man featherweight grand prix as part of the promotion's initial offerings.
"Next year might be the hardest year of my life," Chou told MMA Junkie after the Ki MMA launch event. "It's 32 guys in the tournament, not including alternates, across four continents. The chaos of the tournament format will kick in. We know that. It's not going
to be perfect. We just have to be ready for it. We've just got to have the right guys in the mix. Every now and then you get beautiful chaos. You get a Daniel Cormier coming out as alternate No. 2 and having his breakthrough moment. Every now and then, you'll get a picture-perfect ending of A.J. McKee in the Bellator featherweight grand prix and the belt in his hometown of LA. We've been around. We've seen it go good. We've seen it go bad. We'll be ready."
The tournament will consist of eight representatives from each of four continents: North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. The focus will be on rising young talent who are looking to prove themself on the world stage.
"Young, exciting featherweights, this is a youth movement," Chou said. "This is about the future of the sport. I think those are the key things that me, personally, as the matchmaker and talent relations guy, I wanted to get out there."
Just because the focus is on youth and prospects, something Chou and promoter Scott Coker have excelled at through the years, doesn't mean they're moving away from traditional veteran fights as well. The MMA landscape is limited, and Chou wants to encourage fighters of all levels to reach out and have a conversation about what's possible.
"I think if you're a free agent out there, I think you should see what your options are," Chou said. "You should test the waters. I think we've shown throughout our history at Strikeforce and Bellator that we will invest in free agency. We will shake things up a little bit. I know we spoke about the grand prix tonight, but free agency is a real thing. We have an eight-figure war chest that Scott alluded to for free agents."
"... It seems to me that the current situation, the current state of the sport, a lot of the fighters were deeming it perhaps not worth it to test it. Hopefully we can come, change the narrative and shake things up and make fighters realize they have a real option here with us. It's certainly going to be the conversation on both sides."
Ki MMA is expected to launch in early 2027 and hold events all over the world throughout next year.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ki MMA matchmaker Rich Chou touts 'eight-figure war chest' for marquee free agents
