DUBAI: Most Valuable Promotions and the Professional Fighters League have announced a landmark merger, creating a new home of combat sports under the MVP banner.
The transaction accelerates MVP’s expansion into mixed martial arts following the success of MVP MMA 1. The merger creates a global sports and entertainment company combining boxing, MMA, media, live events, athlete development, and content distribution.
MVP will continue operating with a fighter-first philosophy focused on equitable compensation, maximum visibility, and opportunities for athletes to build their brands both inside and outside of competition, the company stated in a recent press release.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has a minority stake in the PFL, which in recent years saw major expansion in the Middle East North Africa region.
Major events in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given regional fighters exposure in MMA, and have led to the emergence of many others, including Saudi’s first female fighter Hattan Alsaif.
The PFL’s CEO John Martin will serve as CEO and board member, and lead the overall business. He is an experienced executive, having served as chairman and CEO of Turner, overseeing a portfolio including TNT, TBS, CNN, and Turner Sports, and as chief financial officer of Time Warner.
Martin 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.”
Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian will be co-founders and board members and continue to play active leadership roles. Bidarian will continue to drive MVP’s boxing verticals 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.
Bidarian, co-founder and board member of MVP, 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.”
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 the PFL will maintain relationships with many of the world’s leading media and distribution partners, including Netflix, ESPN, Sky Sports, and the PFL’s extensive network of 34 partners across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.
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, including hard-to-reach Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and females.
Meanwhile, the 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.
Paul, co-founder and board member of MVP, 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.”
