Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) today announced a merger creating a new home of combat sports under the MVP banner.
The combined company will bring together world-class boxing, MMA, live events, athlete development and worldwide content distribution under one fighter-first organization, creating a combat sports company.
The new company will be led by Co-Founders and Board Members Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, with John Martin serving as CEO and Board Member. Bidarian will continue to oversee MVP’s boxing business and blockbuster live events (BLE), with the company backed by Founding Investors 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management
PFL CEO John Martin will serve as CEO and board member, and lead the overall business of the combined company.
Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian will be co-founders and board members and continue to play active leadership roles across the business. Bidarian will continue to drive MVP’s boxing verticals and BLEs, and work closely with Martin and the executive team. Paul, the world’s most-followed combat sports promoter, will continue leveraging his platform, audience, and cultural influence to drive audience growth, fighter development, brand expansion, and fan engagement across all areas of the business.
As part of the transaction, existing PFL shareholders 885 Capital and affiliated entities of Knighthead Capital Management, LLC (“Knighthead Capital”) are becoming Founding Investors of the new entity, committing new capital and ensuring the combined company launches with the strongest balance sheet in its history.
MVP will be the master brand for all combat sports properties of the new entity. MVP and MVPW will continue as BLE and boxing cornerstones of the company. PFL has an elite MMA fighter roster, global league operations and infrastructure, media assets and proven ability to stage world class MMA events across the world. This will form the foundation of MVP MMA with the migration being fully completed in the coming months. The combined company will host five premium live events across boxing and MMA in August, demonstrating the scale and capabilities of the new platform.
Together, MVP will feature nearly 400 elite athletes, including world champions, title contenders, and many of the biggest names across combat sports. The company intends to invest aggressively in both boxing and MMA.
“Since launching MVP, our goal has always been bigger than just building a boxing promotion. It has been to build the future of combat sports. In less than five years, MVP has become one of the most influential and culturally relevant brands in the industry, producing some of the biggest events in combat sports history, elevating women’s boxing to unprecedented heights, and bringing millions of new fans into the fight game. The success of MVP MMA’s first event confirmed our belief that there is enormous demand for a modern, fighter-first approach to MMA. This merger accelerates our MMA ambitions while strengthening our ability to continue investing in boxing and MVPW,” said Nakisa Bidarian, Co-founder and Board Member of Most Valuable Promotions.
“Over the past seven years, PFL has built the world’s No. 2 global MMA company, assembling one of the sport’s most elite fighter rosters while creating a world-class global business with premier media distribution across 34 broadcast and streaming partners, reaching fans in more than 170 countries. At the same time, MVP has redefined how combat sports connects with a new generation of fans, creating events that become cultural moments and proving that athletes, sports, entertainment and creators can all thrive together. This merger brings scale – in operations, in distribution and media rights, in sponsorship, in fighter development and in fan engagement,” said John Martin, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of the new company.
“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. We now have a scaled platform to give today’s fans what they want: elite talent mixed with culture, lifestyle, and massive social velocity. MVP was always bigger than me and bigger than any one fighter,” said Jake Paul, Co-founder and Board Member of Most Valuable Promotions.
“MVP is an inevitable movement that needs to happen for the athletes, and now we have all the resources we need to build something that changes this sport forever. I have more conviction in MVP than ever, driven by the proliferation of AI, which will only increase the value of real, live experiences and the sports properties that can bring fans closer to the athletes they love. I look forward to putting my entire promotional muscle into our new company, returning to the boxing ring and making my MVP MMA debut. To all current MVP and PFL fighters, things just got bigger. To fighters fighting in other organizations, we are open for business when you are contractually free. The time for change is now. Welcome to MVP,” he continued.
