Most Valuable Promotions and mixed-martial arts organization Professional Fighters League (PFL) have merged to create a new global combat sports platform. The combined company will operate under the MVP banner, bringing together boxing, MMA, live events, athlete development and worldwide content distribution, creating a combat sports company for the new era. The plan is to host five premium live events across boxing and MMA in August, demonstrating the scale and capabilities of the new platform.
The new company will be led by MVP's Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, with John Martin serving as CEO. Bidarian will continue to oversee MVP's boxing business and blockbuster live events (BLE), with the company backed by the investors 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management.
The transaction accelerates MVP’s expansion into mixed martial arts following the success of MVP MMA 1.
PFL CEO John Martin will serve as CEO and board member, and lead the overall business of the combined company. Martin previously served as chairman and CEO of Turner, where he oversaw a portfolio including TNT, TBS, CNN, and Turner Sports, and as Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner. Paul and 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 founding investors of the new entity, committing new capital and ensuring the combined company launches with the strongest balance sheet in its history. 885 Capital’s Sudeep Ramnani and Jai Mahtani are global technology and sports entrepreneurs and investors, bringing their cutting-edge, international operating insight to the business. Ara Cohen is a co-founder of Knighthead Capital, a diversified institutional investment firm with extensive experience partnering with management teams to build and scale businesses over the long term, providing strategic capital and operational support across complex industries, including in sport.
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.
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.
MVP and PFL will maintain relationships with many of the world's leading media and distribution partners, including Netflix, ESPN, Sky Sports, and PFL's extensive network of 34 partners across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and other key territories, including Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. Together, these relationships form one of the most comprehensive distribution platforms in combat sports.
Since launching in 2021, MVP has become one of the fastest-growing and most influential brands in sports, staging some of the most-watched events the sport has ever seen and reaching hundreds of millions of fans around the world, with particular strength among hard-to-reach Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and women's sports fans. The company has delivered the most-streamed sporting event of all time, the most-viewed professional women's sporting match in U.S. history, the most-streamed MMA event in U.S. history, and record-setting compensation for female athletes across all sports. Through partnerships with Netflix, ESPN, Sky Sports, DAZN, and other leading media companies, MVP has built an internationally recognized brand and established itself as a leader in athlete-first promotion, content creation, and fan engagement.
PFL has built one of the most expansive global platforms in MMA, with a world-class roster of more than 300 fighters representing over 40 countries and a live event footprint spanning four continents. In just over seven years, PFL has staged more than 100 premium live events across 14 countries and was the first organization to hold major MMA events in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Spain and across Africa. In 2026 alone, PFL will produce 24 events across 11 countries, delivering approximately 150 hours of live content to fans. This global infrastructure, combined with PFL's deep fighter roster, premium live event expertise and worldwide distribution, provides a powerful platform to accelerate the growth of MVP MMA and expand the combined company's reach and impact around the world.
Nakisa Bidarian, Co-founder and Board Member of Most Valuable Promotions, said: “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. By combining MVP’s audience-building engine, storytelling capabilities, and brand with PFL’s roster, infrastructure, and international footprint, we are creating a new global home for combat sports. Under the leadership of John Martin, a world-class media executive with deep MMA knowledge, and investment from leading financiers 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital, MVP is going to achieve great things for fighters, fans, and partners.”
John Martin, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of the new company, said: “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. We're not just combining companies, we're bringing an entire combat sports community together and creating a more powerful platform to accelerate growth. One company, one global stage, millions of fans and we're only just getting started. I'm excited to work with Jake and Nakisa as we build the future of combat sports together, and I'm deeply grateful for the continued confidence and support of our lead investors, 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management.”
Jake Paul, Co-founder and Board Member of Most Valuable Promotions, said: "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. 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."
Sudeep Ramnani, co-founder of 885 Capital, said: “We’ve spent our careers building and backing businesses across global markets and few things travel across every border, language, and generation like combat sports. Partnering with Jake Paul, Nakisa Bidarian, and John Martin to bring PFL’s international infrastructure and roster together with MVP’s audience engine builds a business with the scale, talent, and distribution to lead the category. It reaches fans from the most established markets to the fastest-growing regions in the world, with a fighter-first model built for how audiences consume sport today. At 885 Capital, we back founders and leaders who are building industries from first principles, and we believe this platform will do exactly that, while redefining the future of combat sports. As founding investors, we’re proud to commit new capital to help John Martin and the team build the premier global platform for fighters and fans.”
Ara Cohen, Co-Founder and Managing Member of Knighthead Capital said: “This transaction brings together highly complementary assets to create a scaled global combat sports platform with significant long-term growth potential. MVP has demonstrated an exceptional ability to build audiences, create cultural relevance, and elevate athletes, while PFL has built world-class MMA operations, international reach, and a deep roster of talent. We are pleased to deepen Knighthead Capital’s investment and support John Martin, Jake Paul, Nakisa Bidarian, and the broader leadership team as they build what we believe can become one of the premier global sports media and entertainment platforms.”
Goodwin Procter LLP and Moelis & Company LLC served as legal counsel and financial advisor, respectively, to Most Valuable Promotions, with MVP’s Rick Torres leading the transaction. Cooley LLP served as legal counsel to the Professional Fighters League, with PFL’s Jim Bramson leading the transaction.
Additional leadership, organizational, and operational details will be announced at a later date.
