The Professional Fighters League soon will be no more.
Most Valuable Promotions, the company led by Jake Paul, has merged with the PFL, the promotions announced Thursday. The new combined promotion, MVP, will fuse together "world-class boxing, MMA, live events, athlete development, and worldwide content distribution under one fighter-first organization, creating a combat sports company for the new era," according to a news release.
"The future of combat sports is here. Welcome to MVP," the social media posts read.
The PFL still has events scheduled in 2026, including Friday, but the brand will be phased out, and by the start of the next calendar year, the PFL as it exists now is expected to be fully integrated into the new MVP promotion.
MVP's leadership
team will be Paul and co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, along with the PFL's John Martin as CEO and a member of the board of directors. Bidarian will oversee the boxing and live events segments.
MVP made its first foray into MMA in May with a record-setting live show on Netflix that featured the returns of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry, and Francis Ngannou's return to MMA. The company termed it a massive success, the kind that could present a substantial rivalry to the UFC that recent U.S.-based promotions like the PFL and Bellator weren't able to fully realize.
Although MVP MMA's first event was live on Netflix, the PFL currently is in a broadcast deal with ESPN. A new broadcast distribution deal is likely to be secured and announced before the year's end.
Paul, "the world’s most-followed combat sports promoter," according to the release, 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."
"We started MVP to disrupt a broken model," Paul said in the release. "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."
The PFL is on the East Coast this week for PFL New York, which takes place Friday in Belmont Park on Long Island.
Stay tuned to MMA Junkie for more on this story as it develops.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL merges with MVP, Jake Paul says 'time for change is now'
