MVP MMA Merges With PFL, Rebranding 400-Fighter Promotion by 2027 to Challenge UFC
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 30
MVP MMA Merges With PFL, Rebranding 400-Fighter Promotion by 2027 to Challenge UFC
2 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 30
Summary
PFL will be folded into MVP MMA and rebranded by early 2027, giving Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian an instant roster of nearly 400 fighters for a direct push at the UFC.
The merger follows MVP MMA's debut event on Netflix, which averaged nearly 17 million global viewers and reinforced the company's claim that a fighter-first model can draw a mass audience.
John Martin, PFL's CEO, will become MVP MMA's CEO, extending a long PFL identity overhaul after the league evolved from WSOF and absorbed Bellator in 2023.
Pay, media rights and talent strategy now become the key tests: MVP says it will keep investing in boxing while deciding whether to build stars, sign UFC defectors or chase aging names.
The deal sets up a more crowded 2027 MMA market, with UFC still dominant, Scott Coker's planned Strike MMA looming, and recent UFC signings already showing the fight for talent.