Scott Coker's Ki MMA formally asks California to allow grounded head knees

Scott Coker, the promoter behind the new Ki MMA league, has formally asked the California State Athletic Commission to consider legalizing knees to the head of a grounded opponent, a strike that has been banned under the sport's Unified Rules for more than two decades, Athlon Sports reported on October 21, 2026.

Ki MMA, Coker's ring based promotion set to debut in early 2027, is asking California regulators to import an element of the Global MMA Rules used by organizations including ONE Championship and RIZIN. Under the Unified Rules, a competitor is considered grounded once any part of the body other than the soles of the feet touches the canvas, and knees to that opponent's head are currently prohibited. Coker's written statement cited Rule 533 and asked for a change that would allow grounded head knees while explicitly excluding soccer kicks, stomps and linear knee strikes.

"I've always believed MMA should keep evolving," Coker said in the statement.

The request asks the commission to place the topic on the agenda for its December 1 stakeholders meeting, according to a separate report from MMA Crossfire. A stakeholders meeting is a forum for the commission to gather input, not a vote that enacts a rule change, so the December session would open a discussion rather than approve anything. Any eventual change would still need to clear the commission's formal rulemaking process before it could apply to a Ki MMA event.

Ki MMA announced in September that it will run its cards in a ring rather than a cage, headlined by a 32 fighter featherweight grand prix split into four regional brackets, positioning the promotion as an alternative to the UFC and PFL when it launches next year. Allowing knees to a grounded opponent's head, long associated with Japan's former PRIDE Fighting Championships, would give the new league one of the clearest technical distinctions from the cage based Unified Rules promotions that currently dominate the sport.