Most Valuable Promotions and PFL Complete Landmark Merger, Creating New Global Combat Sports Company
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Most Valuable Promotions and PFL are joining forces—but will Jake Paul’s promotional power help rebuild PFL or turn the merger into another combat-sports spectacle?
Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian’s MVP will become the master brand, while PFL’s roster, global operations and media infrastructure form the foundation of MVP MMA.
By John Murray | JMurrayathletics
Most Valuable Promotions and the Professional Fighters League officially announced a landmark merger Thursday, July 30, bringing two of combat sports’ most ambitious companies together under the MVP banner.
The newly combined organization will operate across professional boxing, mixed martial arts, athlete development, media production, international distribution and major live events. MVP will serve as the master brand, while the PFL’s fighter roster, MMA operations, media assets and international infrastructure will become the foundation of a new division known as MVP MMA.
The transaction represents far more than a promotional partnership. It is a full restructuring of both companies into one combat-sports organization with nearly 400 athletes and distribution relationships spanning Netflix, ESPN, Sky Sports and dozens of international broadcast partners.
Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed in the official announcement.
Who Will Lead the Combined Company?
PFL CEO John Martin will serve as chief executive officer and a board member of the new company, placing him in charge of its overall business operations.
Martin previously served as chairman and CEO of Turner, where he oversaw major properties including TNT, TBS, CNN and Turner Sports. He also served as chief financial officer of Time Warner, giving the new organization an executive with extensive experience in television, media rights and global sports distribution.
Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian will remain co-founders and board members while continuing to take active leadership roles.
Bidarian will oversee MVP’s boxing divisions and what the company describes as blockbuster live events. Paul will focus heavily on audience growth, fighter recruitment, promotion, brand development and fan engagement.
This distinction matters because some early headlines may leave fans with the impression that Paul has become the day-to-day CEO of the PFL. That is not the announced structure. Martin will run the combined company, while Paul and Bidarian will help shape its direction, public identity and promotional strategy.
Existing PFL shareholders 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management will become founding investors in the new organization. Both groups have committed additional capital to support the launch and continued development of the merged company.
What Happens to the PFL Name?
MVP will become the primary brand across the combined company, but the PFL name will not disappear overnight.
The transition toward MVP MMA is expected to take place over the coming months. Additional information regarding leadership positions, company operations, event branding and organizational structure will be announced later.
PFL New York, scheduled for Friday, July 31, at UBS Arena on Long Island, will still take place under the PFL name. The event is headlined by undefeated lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov defending against undefeated challenger Archie Colgan.
Dakota Ditcheva will face Denise Kielholtz in the co-main event, with the main card airing on ESPN in the United States.
The decision to continue promoting scheduled events as PFL cards shows that this will be a staged migration rather than an immediate removal of the league’s identity.
What remains unclear is whether PFL will survive as an event series within MVP MMA, become a secondary property or eventually be phased out completely. The announcement only confirms that MVP will be the master brand and that PFL’s existing operation will become the foundation of MVP MMA.
A Relationship That Started in 2023
Jake Paul’s connection with the PFL did not begin with this merger.
In January 2023, Paul signed an exclusive MMA agreement with the league and became the first fighter attached to a proposed PFL pay-per-view superfight division. Paul and Bidarian also became minority equity owners in PFL’s parent company.
The plan called for fighters competing in the superfight division to receive 50 percent of pay-per-view revenue. Paul was additionally named PFL’s head of fighter advocacy and repeatedly discussed making his professional MMA debut inside the PFL cage.
That division never developed into the transformative pay-per-view product originally advertised, and Paul did not compete for PFL during the initial agreement.
The merger now gives both sides another opportunity to deliver on several of those earlier promises—but on a much larger scale. Paul again stated that he intends to make an MMA debut, this time under the MVP MMA banner.
What Each Company Brings to the Merger
MVP and PFL have different strengths, which makes the logic behind the merger relatively easy to understand.
MVP has established itself as one of combat sports’ most aggressive promotional and audience-development companies. It has shown an ability to create viral moments, reach younger viewers and build events around individual personalities instead of relying only on championships or rankings.
The company has also made women’s boxing a central part of its operation through MVPW, developing events and media opportunities around fighters including Amanda Serrano and other established and emerging champions.
PFL, meanwhile, brings the harder part of building an MMA promotion: a large fighter roster, international events, regulatory experience, matchmaking operations, broadcast infrastructure and established relationships across several global markets.
According to the merger announcement, PFL currently has more than 300 fighters representing over 40 countries. The company has promoted more than 100 events in 14 countries and is scheduled to produce 24 events across 11 countries during 2026.
PFL also acquired Bellator from Paramount Global in November 2023, bringing another major collection of fighters and championship history into its organization. At the time, PFL promoted the acquisition as a move that would create an industry co-leader capable of competing more directly with the UFC.
That acquisition gave PFL talent, but talent alone never fully solved the promotion’s larger problem.
PFL has repeatedly struggled to turn respected fighters into consistently recognizable mainstream stars. It has also changed formats, event structures and brand identities several times while trying to establish a clear place in the market.
MVP’s value is not that it knows more about operating an MMA league. Its value is that it understands how to create attention.
PFL has the machine. MVP has the marketing engine.
The merger is a bet that putting those pieces together will create something more valuable than either company could build independently.
What the Merger Could Mean for Fighters
The combined organization is continuing to promote what it calls a fighter-first philosophy centered on equitable compensation, visibility and long-term brand development.
Paul has made fighter pay a major part of his public identity in combat sports. In announcing the merger, he said the combined platform would give athletes a larger stage and indicated that MVP is prepared to recruit fighters once they become contractually available.
That message will attract attention, especially from established fighters who believe they are underpromoted or undervalued elsewhere.
However, athletes should judge the new company by its contracts, consistency and execution—not its launch statements.
A fighter-first promotion must provide more than a high-profile signing announcement. Fighters need reliable event schedules, competitive matchups, clear divisional direction, strong media exposure and enough activity to build sustainable careers.
One of MVP MMA’s biggest early tests will be whether it can consistently keep nearly 400 athletes active while giving its most promising fighters enough promotional support to become recognizable stars.
The company must also explain how championships, rankings, regional leagues and any remaining PFL formats will fit together.
Is This a Real Threat to the UFC?
The merger immediately creates a more credible global alternative to the UFC, but it does not instantly create an equal competitor.
The UFC has decades of brand recognition, a massive roster, a powerful content library and a seven-year U.S. media-rights agreement with Paramount reportedly valued at $7.7 billion.
MVP MMA cannot close that gap with social-media impressions alone.
It must create meaningful fights, develop champions that fans care about and give audiences a simple reason to follow the promotion from one event to the next.
For years, nearly every major UFC competitor has claimed to possess the roster, money or strategy required to challenge the market leader. Bellator made that argument. PFL made that argument after acquiring Bellator. Now MVP MMA will make its own version of the same case.
The difference is that MVP enters the situation with demonstrated promotional reach and an understanding of how modern fight fans discover athletes through clips, personalities, interviews and social content.
That gives the new company a legitimate advantage. It does not guarantee success.
The Next Several Months Will Define the Merger
The combined company plans to promote five live boxing and MMA events during August, giving it an immediate opportunity to demonstrate the scale of the new operation.
The bigger questions will not be answered during the merger announcement.
Fans and fighters will need to see the company’s future media-rights strategy, the structure of MVP MMA, its championship system and how the organization manages athletes inherited through PFL and Bellator.
The company must also prove that combining two organizations will create a more efficient product rather than another layer of confusion.
On paper, this merger addresses the clearest weaknesses facing both sides. MVP gains an experienced MMA operation and a deep international roster. PFL gains a culturally relevant brand with a stronger ability to attract attention and promote individual athletes.
That makes this one of the most important business developments in combat sports in recent years.
But the announcement is only the beginning.
MVP MMA now has the fighters, investors, infrastructure and promotional reach to become a serious force. The next challenge is turning those resources into a combat-sports product people consistently choose to watch.
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