MVP and PFL merge, uniting MMA and boxing under single promotional company

Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions and the Professional Fighters League announced Thursday that they are merging, shifting the PFL and its operations under the MVP Promotions umbrella to form one combat sports company that combines MMA and boxing. The consolidation represents a significant structural realignment in professional mixed martial arts outside the UFC.

MVP is led by Jake Paul and co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. Per ESPN's reporting, PFL head John Martin, who joined the company in 2025, will continue to operate as CEO and board member post-merger. As part of the transaction, MVP announced a new capital raise involving existing PFL shareholders 885 Capital and affiliated entities of Knighthead Capital Management, though specific financial terms were not disclosed.

MVP entered the MMA scene in May with its first event, which featured the return of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano on Netflix. According to ESPN, the event drew 12.4 million viewers, with viewership peaking at 17 million during Rousey's 17-second armbar victory over Carano in Los Angeles. MVP's umbrella already included its women's boxing division, MVPW, which airs on ESPN.

The PFL, launched in 2018, established itself as home to the elite MMA talent outside the UFC, particularly after acquiring Bellator MMA in 2023. The combined roster includes fighters such as Dakota Ditcheva, Usman Nurmagomedov, AJ McKee, and Johnny Eblen. Per the announcement, the PFL operates across 34 broadcast and streaming partners and reaches fans in more than 170 countries. The PFL currently airs on ESPN in the U.S. through 2026.

Paul stated in the merger announcement, "We started MVP to disrupt a broken model. We wanted to give fighters fair pay and a bigger, modernized stage to become global superstars. Joining forces with PFL accelerates that vision by a decade." He added, "I look forward to putting my entire promotional muscle into our new company, returning to the boxing ring and making my MVP MMA debut." Bidarian said, "The success of MVP MMA's first event confirmed our belief that there is enormous demand for a modern, fighter-first approach to MMA."

The PFL has historically pursued multiple strategic reformulations, including changes to season and tournament formats, according to ESPN's reporting. Those shifts signal the organization has worked to build sustained audience engagement independent of external partnerships. The immediate operational structure for integrating MVP and PFL, along with contractual obligations beyond the ESPN deal through 2026, remain unaddressed in the announcement. Paul has repeatedly promised to disrupt the MMA industry, which has long been dominated by the UFC, and has teased his eventual competitive debut in professional MMA, though the timeframe and regulatory framework for any such competition are not yet specified.