{"id":39624,"date":"2026-07-31T09:34:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/PFL-Jake-Pauls-MVP-merge-to-form-new-global-combat-sports-company-202147"},"modified":"2026-07-31T09:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:34:46","slug":"pfl-jake-pauls-mvp-merge-to-form-new-global-combat-sports-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/pfl-jake-pauls-mvp-merge-to-form-new-global-combat-sports-company\/","title":{"rendered":"PFL, Jake Paul\u2019s MVP merge to form new global combat sports company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n


\nProfessional Fighters League<\/a> and
\nMost Valuable Promotions<\/a> have officially merged in a massive
\ndevelopment in the world of combat sports.<\/p>\n

The new company will operate under the MVP banner, led by
\nCo-Founders and Board Members Jake Paul<\/a> and
\nNakisa Bidarian. Meanwhile, former PFL CEO John Martin will serve
\nas CEO and Board Member of the new league. MVP\u2019s boxing business
\nand blockbuster live events will continue under Bidarian. Existing
\nPFL shareholders 885 Capital and affiliated entities Knighthead
\nCapital Management will be the founding investors of the new
\nleague, committing new capital.<\/p>\n

\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The new league vows to work under a \u201cfighter-first\u201d philosophy,
\nseemingly challenging rival
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a>. While the UFC has been severely
\ncriticized over minimum profit share for athletes, the new combat
\nsports league promises equitable compensation. The new league also
\nplans to encourage athletes to build their brands inside and
\noutside of competition, probably hinting at freedom to choose
\nsponsors.<\/p>\n

What the PFL-MVP merger means for Jake Paul, fighter pay, the
\nUFC and the future of MMA and boxing<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe started MVP to disrupt a broken model,\u201d Jake Paul, co-founder
\nof Most Valuable Promotions, said in a press release. \u201cWe wanted to
\ngive fighters fair pay and a bigger, modernized stage to become
\nglobal superstars. Joining forces with PFL accelerates that vision
\nby a decade. We now have a scaled platform to give today’s fans
\nwhat they want: elite talent mixed with culture, lifestyle, and
\nmassive social velocity. MVP was always bigger than me and bigger
\nthan any one fighter. MVP is an inevitable movement that needs to
\nhappen for the athletes, and now we have all the resources we need
\nto build something that changes this sport forever. I have more
\nconviction in MVP than ever, driven by the proliferation of AI,
\nwhich will only increase the value of real, live experiences and
\nthe sports properties that can bring fans closer to the athletes
\nthey love. I look forward to putting my entire promotional muscle
\ninto our new company, returning to the boxing ring and making my
\nMVP MMA debut. To all current MVP and PFL fighters, things just got
\nbigger. To fighters fighting in other organizations, we are open
\nfor business when you are contractually free. The time for change
\nis now. Welcome to MVP.\u201d<\/p>\n

The combined company also vows to display its capabilities by
\nhosting five premium events across boxing and MMA in August. The
\nbrand will have 400 athletes combined under its roster and plans to
\ninvest aggressively in both sports.<\/p>\n

A lightweight
\ntitle fight headlines PFL NY: Tune on Friday, July 31 at 7 p.m. ET
\non ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past seven years, PFL has built the world\u2019s No. 2 global
\nMMA company, assembling one of the sport\u2019s most elite fighter
\nrosters while creating a world-class global business with premier
\nmedia distribution across 34 broadcast and streaming partners,
\nreaching fans in more than 170 countries,\u201d John Martin, chief
\nexecutive officer of the new company said in a press release. \u201cAt
\nthe same time, MVP has redefined how combat sports connects with a
\nnew generation of fans, creating events that become cultural
\nmoments and proving that athletes, sports, entertainment and
\ncreators can all thrive together. This merger brings scale – in
\noperations, in distribution and media rights, in sponsorship, in
\nfighter development and in fan engagement. We’re not just combining
\ncompanies, we’re bringing an entire combat sports community
\ntogether and creating a more powerful platform to accelerate
\ngrowth. One company, one global stage, millions of fans and we’re
\nonly just getting started. I’m excited to work with Jake and Nakisa
\nas we build the future of combat sports together, and I’m deeply
\ngrateful for the continued confidence and support of our lead
\ninvestors, 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

\ud83d\udea8OFFICIAL: Most Valuable Promotions and the
\nProfessional Fighters League have officially merged.<\/p>\n

Together under the MVP banner, we\u2019re bringing world-class boxing,
\nMMA, premium live events, athlete development, and global content
\ndistribution into one fighter-first\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Hy9mfR0Gde<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MVP – Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions)
\nJuly 30, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/center> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professional Fighters League and Most Valuable Promotions have officially merged in a massive development in the world of combat sports. The new company will operate under the MVP banner, led by Co-Founders and Board Members Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. Meanwhile, former PFL CEO John Martin will serve as CEO and Board Member of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39638,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39624\/revisions\/39638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}