Jake Paul and Co. invaded the mixed martial arts (MMA) space last night (Sat., May 16 2026) by staging MVP MMA 1 from inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California., which featured a less-than-thrilling women’s Featherweight bout that saw Ronda Rousey steamroll Gina Carano with her trademark armbar in 17 seconds (see it again here). In the co-main event, Mike Perry absolutely manhandled Nate Diaz, destroying him for 10 minutes and leaving him a bloody mess, prompting his corner to put an end to the fight
(recap here).
While there is no telling if this will be the beginning of long ride for the promotion or a one-and-done type of deal, let’s take a deep dive to see what could be next for all of the main card winners, whether inside the MVP hexagon or elsewhere.
Winner: Ronda Rousey
After Rousey ran right over “Conviction,” she confirmed that she is done fighting once and for all, though that does not necessarily mean she’s done working in the MMA arena. If Jake Paul and his team really are serious about putting on more events, she could very well be the voice and face for the promotion when it comes to promoting its events. She did recently says she’d love nothing more than to be the Dana White of MVP, so that may be her next move. Other than making more babies, as she excitedly revealed post-fight, of course.
Winner: Mike Perry
The options are plentiful for “Platinum,” who once again proved he is the “King of Violence” after leaving Diaz a bloody and battered mess. Perry can always go back to his bar knuckle ways since he has a great relationship with BKFC. He seems to have built a nice working partnership with Jake Paul, as well, after boxing against him and taking part in his inaugural MMA event, so he can potentially look forward to future fights under the MVP banner. Since the promotion’s roster is thin at the moment, then we can’t really play matchmaker there. That said, there are several other Welterweights all over the world that can be a good challenge for “Platinum.” One that stands out at the moment is none other than Salahdine Parnasse, who destroyed Kenneth Cross via first-round technical knockout in a Lightweight bout on the main card of this event. During the post-fight presser, Paransse called for a showdown against Perry, so that could be a great option.
Winner: Francis Ngannou
After “The Predator” destroyed Philipe Lins he was quick to take his shot to call for a fight against Jon Jones, the one he’s wanted for some time now. “Bones” was in the building and acknowledged the call out, saying he would love to get out f his UFC contract in order to make the fight happen. That will prove to be a tough obstacle because the promotion is notorious for making fighters stay true to their contract more often than not. In this case, they would have to be willing to let go of the best fighter to ever grace the Octagon for the price of nothing in order to let him face a man Dana White is not very fond off in Ngannou. That in itself will make it a tough battle for Jones’ legal team. There are other option for Ngannou, however, as he can always go back to the boxing ring and face off against someone like Deontay Wilder.
Winner: Salahdine Parnasse
Parnasse made the most of his stateside MMA debut by absolutely destroying Kenneth Cross in the very first round. The 28 year-old Frenchman has been doing great things overseas at KSW, but he earned a ton of new fans who may not have been familiar with his skills last night. He has now won five straight and 10 of his last 11, further elevating his stock, and further making UFC regret not signing him long ago. That’s not to say he can never make his way to the Octagon, but if he’s getting decent pay to fight freely and not be tied down then he could stay with MVP MMA for a while. After his win he called for a fight against Mike Perry, which means he’d have to move up to Welterweight to make it happen. And frankly, I don’t think its too farfetched to believe Jake Paul and Co. wouldn’t book that matchup for its sophomore offering.
Winner: Robelis Despaigne
Despaigne returned to the MMA cage for the first time since getting his release from UFC in late 2024 following back-to-back defeats, destroying an over matched Junior dos Santos, knocking him out in the very first round (video replay here). Afterward, he said he plans to compete in both MMA and Karate Combat, where he is 7-0 with six knockouts. He also expressed his desire to face Francis Ngannou, whom he was rooting for to be victorious in order for the fight to make sense. When asked about the potential fight, Ngannou sort of downplayed it since he obviously has bigger fish on his mind. That said, if he can accept a fight against a smaller man who usually fights at Light Heavyweight, then he can most definitely accept a fight against an even bigger man than him with comparable knockout power.
For complete ‘Rousey vs. Carano’ fight card results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
