Jake Paul's MVP Merges With PFL to Build a Global Fight Empire

The rumors are done. On Thursday, Most Valuable Promotions and the Professional Fighters League confirmed they've merged into a single combat-sports company operating under the MVP banner. It folds boxing, MMA, media rights and live events into one entity, backed by financiers 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital, with the deal set to fully close later this year.

The numbers behind the tie-up are the real story. PFL brings what it calls the world's No. 2 global MMA operation, an elite roster and distribution across 34 broadcast and streaming partners reaching more than 170 countries. MVP, less than five years old, provides the audience-building machine and the cultural reach that turned its cards into mainstream events. Five combined boxing and MMA shows are already booked for August.

Who's Running It

The new MVP will be steered by co-founders and board members Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, with media executive John Martin installed as CEO. Bidarian framed the move as accelerating MVP's MMA ambitions while keeping investment flowing into boxing, and said MVP MMA's debut event proved there's demand for a fighter-first model. Martin pitched the merger as a scale play across operations, distribution, sponsorship and fighter development.

Paul, never one to undersell a moment, said linking up with PFL fast-forwards his vision by roughly a decade. He argued MVP was built to disrupt a broken model by paying fighters fairly and giving them a modern platform, and he made a point of inviting any fighter who's contractually free to come talk business. He also confirmed he plans to return to the boxing ring and make his MVP MMA debut.

Paul's own recent ledger is a reminder that the promoter's ambitions outrun his fight results. He sits at 12-2 (7 KO) in boxing after a sixth-round KO loss to Anthony Joshua, and he's said he's only a couple of weeks from getting clearance on a broken jaw. The company's momentum, though, hasn't leaned on his in-ring output. MVP MMA's roster now includes Ronda Rousey, who's spent recent weeks openly needling UFC leadership over marketing and viewership.

For the near term, business carries on as scheduled. Friday's MMA card headlined by Usman Nurmagomedov and Archie Colgan will still run as a PFL event, with MVP acting as the master brand over the top. MVP and its women's boxing arm MVPW remain the company's stated boxing cornerstones, while PFL's league operations, roster and media assets become the backbone of MVP MMA. Whether one banner can actually house two combat codes at scale is the question the next 12 months will answer.