Jake Paul is testing the limits of creator clout with a new pro-fighting push.
Paul is combining his company, Most Valuable Promotions, with the Professional Fighters League to take on the UFC. Analysts say it’ll create a formidable challenger, though it will be tough to match the UFC’s size and brand advantages.
“We’re not going to overtake UFC in the near term,” MVP cofounder Nakisa Bidarian told Business Insider. Over time, he said, MVP aims to “chip away and hopefully create a Nike and Adidas dynamic, a Pepsi and Coke dynamic, over the next seven to 10 years.”
Bidarian says Paul is a big piece of the effort, which includes the creator entering the cage himself, as early as November.
“He’s not just a creator — he’s a combat sports entrepreneur and fighter,” Bidarian said. “He’s a unicorn asset when it comes to being a fighter and a promoter at the same time. Jake is the best engagement-getter in combat sports by a wide margin.”
Celeb-led companies have a ‘key-person risk’
Paul has a large social following, a strong appeal among young audiences, and a relationship with Netflix that could help MVP secure a bigger media rights deal when the PFL’s ESPN deal expires later this year, said Patrick Auger, a contributor to Sherdog, an MMA news outlet.
The combined company — bringing together MVP’s fight promotion and talent management business with the PFL’s combat sports events operation — will use the MVP name. Company leaders plan to increase the output of video and filmed entertainment content to drive attention and engagement around PFL’s athletes.
“It’s a change in mindset to come from just being a live events company with elite athletes to being a real content and entertainment company,” said PFL CEO John Martin — also the former CEO of Turner — who is the CEO of the new entity.
The new MVP needs to attract and develop top fighters who can attract ongoing audiences.
“Content can help, but it isn’t going to create stars,” Auger said. “The UFC has built a moat between itself and any other competitor. For the casual fan, the UFC is MMA.”
Companies built around a big persona — like Paul — can also run a “key-person risk” if the person, say, gets sick or suffers reputational damage. Bidarian said Paul is a critical part of the leadership team and that he talks with him “multiple times” a day. He also said that the company isn’t overly reliant on Paul.
“It’s always a risk when you tie something to one individual, but we have nearly 400 fighters on the new MVP, and that’s a very formidable athlete list,” Martin added.
MVP wants to be a content company
Mixed martial arts has gained cultural currency thanks to UFC boss Dana White’s long-standing relationship with President Donald Trump and high-profile fans like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg turning out at fights.
To capitalize, Paul and team aim to broaden MVP’s reach among casual fans and women. MVP has doubled down on women athletes, forming a women’s boxing league, MVPW, which has a distribution deal with ESPN through 2028. The Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano fight in May on Netflix, where MVP has streamed big events since 2024, was the streamer’s first-ever live MMA event.
Bidarian pointed to MVP’s earlier women’s fights on ESPN this year as evidence that women can draw audiences of both genders, in turn increasing advertiser appeal.
“The female concentration has been great, but equally, the male 18-to-34 concentration has been great, too,” Bidarian said of the audience.
The organization also plans to use short-form storytelling and Paul’s social reach to grab attention and capitalize on live sports being one of the last mass entertainment vehicles. Paul is also involved in training fellow athletes in social media promotion.
Bidarian said the company’s leadership had discussed creating an in-house infrastructure to help MVP athletes grow their brands. MVP has a combat sports-related show it plans to announce in the coming months, which he didn’t name, and is in discussions to make scripted and unscripted series, he said.
Still, the UFC has a big talent and size advantage over the PFL. The UFC puts on about twice as many hours of live events as the PFL, according to the organizations, and has deep pockets it can dig into to sign talent.
“UFC controls so much depth of talent, the largest stars, and produces so many hours of content that it’s been an incredible struggle to create a strong alternative,” said John Pollack, editor of Post Wrestling, a media company covering wrestling and combat sports.
