Jake Paul's MVP merges with PFL, creating UFC's biggest rival

Most Valuable Promotions, the combat sports company led by Jake Paul, has merged with the Professional Fighters League, the world's second-largest MMA organization.

MVP announced the merger with PFL on Thursday local time. Under the deal, PFL and its operating structure will be folded into MVP, creating a single combat sports company spanning both boxing and MMA.

MVP entered the MMA market in May when it staged its first MMA event on Netflix, headlined by the comebacks of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. Paul has long vowed to upend a combat sports landscape dominated by the UFC, and has repeatedly said he plans to make his own professional MMA debut.

According to MVP, the May event drew 12.4 million viewers on Netflix. Viewership peaked at 17 million when Rousey submitted Carano with an armbar in just 17 seconds in the main event.

"We built MVP to fix a broken system," Paul said in a statement. "We wanted to give fighters fair treatment and a bigger, more modern stage to become global superstars." He added: "Joining forces with PFL accelerates that vision by a decade. We will bring the full promotional power of the new company to bear."

MVP is led by Paul and co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. John Martin, who joined PFL in 2025, will continue as CEO and board member following the merger.

Founded in 2018, PFL established itself — particularly after acquiring Bellator MMA in 2023 — as the top MMA organization outside the UFC, with a roster that includes Dakota Ditcheva, Usman Nurmagomedov, AJ McKee and Johnny Eblen. The merger combines that fighter depth with MVP's marketing capabilities.

"Over the past seven years, PFL grew into the world's No. 2 global MMA organization and built a worldwide business foundation," Martin said in a statement. "At the same time, MVP proved that fighters, sports, entertainment and creators can grow together by producing events that generate real buzz. This merger will create synergies across every dimension — operational scale, retail distribution, broadcast rights, sponsorship, fighter development and fan engagement."

Alongside his role as an executive, Paul signaled ambitions as a competitor, expressing interest in both a boxing comeback and an MMA debut. The boxing influencer suffered a sixth-round TKO loss to active heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua in December, sustaining a broken jaw in the process.