Jake Paul just took over the UFC’s biggest competitor — here’s what it all means

Jake Paul has once again found himself in the center of a combat sports spectacle — and this time there’s no telling where things go from here.

Paul and his longtime business partner, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, announced Thursday that MVP and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) have begun a merger to create what is being termed “a new global combat sports powerhouse” — a joint company that combines MVP and PFL’s existing rosters and infrastructures to create what may legitimately be the most significant MMA challenger brand to the UFC’s market dominance in more than a decade.

Here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s big news.

What’s happening?

Early Thursday morning, Paul’s promotional company (MVP) and one of MMA’s top promotions (PFL) announced a shocking merger of the two brands, both of which hold a sizable market share in the combat sports landscape.

The ramifications of this move, while still too early to tell, could be seismic for MMA.

Who’s going to run this company?

The new joint company is set to be led by the trio of Paul, Bidarian and current PFL CEO John Martin, with Martin becoming MVP MMA’s new CEO and board member.

Bidarian is expected to continue spearheading MVP’s live-event business and boxing business, the latter of which currently carries broadcast deals with ESPN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the UK.

Nakisa Bidarian (left) and Jake Paul (right) founded MVP in 2021.

(Sarah Stier via Getty Images)

How is this all going to work? Does the PFL still exist?

Yes and no. The new merged company will operate under the MVP name, with a full brand migration expected to be completed by the beginning of 2027.

The company will remain privately owned and immediately carries a roster of nearly 400 athletes between MMA and boxing, drawing from both the current PFL and MVP rosters. Notable MMA fighters under contract with PFL include champions Cris Cyborg, Usman Nurmagomedov, Johnny Eblen, Thad Jean and Vadim Nemkov, along with popular contenders Dakota Ditcheva, Paul Hughes and AJ McKee.

MVP currently boasts the most decorated collection of women’s talent in boxing, promoting champions and pound-for-pound stalwarts Amanda Serrano, Alycia Baumgardner, Mikaela Mayer and Ellie Scotney, among many others.

While the brand migration begins to take shape over the coming months, PFL and MVP will continue running their separate event schedules as planned, including Friday’s PFL event in New York, which will remain a PFL-branded event.

What’s the money behind this?

The merged company will be financially backed by existing PFL shareholders 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management.

A joint press release between MVP and PFL declared that both 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management have committed “new capital” to ensure “the combined company launches with the strongest balance sheet in its history.” In the same press release, the merged MVP-PFL pledged “to invest aggressively in both boxing and MMA.”

Bidarian told the Wall Street Journal that the combined company intends to attract fighters “with aggressive compensation offers” and “plans to encourage its athletes to participate in events across both boxing and MMA.”

I’m new to MMA — what even is the PFL?

Born from the ashes of a different fight promotion (World Series of Fighting) in 2017, PFL became the de facto No. 2 in the U.S. MMA marketplace after acquiring another longtime UFC competitor, Bellator MMA, in late 2023.

The PFL was initially conceived around a “season” structure that focused on running several $1 million tournaments per season, with each weight-class’ winner ultimately earning a $1 million grand prize. PFL pivoted away from that structure following the arrival of CEO John Martin in 2025, however, focusing instead of promoting a more UFC-like approach to the business driven by straightforward matchmaking and the crowning of champions in PFL’s seven men’s divisions and two women’s.

PFL currently holds a domestic broadcast rights deal with ESPN that is set to expire at the end of 2026.

Is this a legitimate threat to the UFC?

Time will tell. Paul and Bidarian have proven to be impressive disruptors to the combat sports space, hosting several blockbuster mainstream combat events since their rise began in 2021, and drawing marquee broadcast partners like Netflix to the table.

After largely focusing on boxing for the first four years of MVP’s existence, the duo made a shocking entry into MMA this past May by luring UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey out of retirement for a comeback fight against fellow women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano. The card, which doubled as Netflix’s first-ever MMA event, featured several notable ex-UFC stars — Nate Diaz, Francis Ngannou, Mike Perry — and became a record-breaking success, shattering the previous U.S. viewership benchmark for an MMA event.

In the aftermath, Paul and Bidarian pledged that success would only mark the beginning of their efforts to create a worthy challenger to the UFC’s market stranglehold.

Is Jake Paul going to fight in MMA?

That appears to be in the cards. The 29-year-old firebrand told the Wall Street Journal that he intends to compete in an MMA under the merged brand, in addition to his future boxing endeavors with MVP.

Paul has continued to recover since suffering a broken jaw in his December bout against former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, but has teased a potential return to training in recent months.

Paul previously partnered with PFL in 2023 in anticipation of an MMA debut that never came, serving additionally as a brand ambassador for the promotion during that time.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 18: Jake Paul attends the Sports Illustrated's "Beyond the Pitch New York City" event at Cipriani Wall Street on July 18, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images) — Jake Paul is officially all-in on the MMA business.

(Dominik Bindl via Getty Images)

What does this mean for MMA/UFC fighters?

It can only be a good thing. The existence of viable alternatives to the UFC in the MMA marketplace has long helped drive up fighter salaries and opportunities for athletes to generate bidding wars in free agency.

The UFC remains the industry leader by a wide margin, but the promotion has come under fire for decades for its restrictive contracts and an athlete revenue share that pales in comparison to many of the biggest sports leagues in the world. The UFC typically pays its fighters just 16-20% of the revenue earned by the company, compared to the 50-80% split seen in sports such as the NBA, NFL, MLB and major boxing.

UFC continues to face multiple antitrust lawsuits for its tactics. In 2025, the promotion was forced to pay out a $375 million settlement to more than 1,000 former UFC fighters, and that may only be the beginning of the company’s antitrust troubles. Despite that, the payout barely made a dent in the UFC’s bottom line; in the first quarter of 2026 alone, UFC’s parent company, TKO — which also owns WWE — reported revenue of $1.59 billion, with UFC bringing in $401.2 million of that within the first three months of the year.

In past eras, the existence of strong MMA challenger brands such as Pride Fighting Championships and Strikeforce has helped fighters wield what little leverage they have to help raise wages within the sport. The UFC ultimately acquired and consumed both Pride and Strikeforce, and in doing so struck a significant blow that to leverage, however it now appears a viable new opponent is cresting over the horizon for the MMA leader.

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