Scott Coker was sitting in the stands at the Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove, California. It was May 10, 2014. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was promoting an amateur MMA card that night, and Coker went with a friend to see Jackson.
At the time, Coker, the longtime combat sports promoter, was a free agent. 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. But Coker, the former Strikeforce president and founder, was also considering starting his own promotion again.
Coker wasn't sure what his next step would be.