Watch out, Dana White! Jake Paul buys PFL and starts a new era in MMA; find out why.

Dana in an interview. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube

PUBLICITY:

The UFC, a market leader with very few commercial threats since the end of organizations like PRIDE and Strikeforce, will now have a new opponent. Most Valuable Promotions, founded and run by Jake Paul , announced this Thursday (30) the merger with PFL, the second largest MMA event in the world. The announcement was made on the companies' social media profiles in the morning.

In the publication, the two companies highlighted their desire to initiate a new way of promoting combat sports, not limiting themselves to just MMA. They also made a point of showing their goal of expanding globally as a brand.

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“Together under the MVP banner, we are bringing world-class boxing, MMA, premium live events, athlete development, and global content distribution to a single fighter-focused organization. The future of combat sports is here. Welcome to MVP,” the statement said.

🚨Most Valuable Promotions and the Professional Fighters League have officially merged. 🚨

Together under the MVP banner, we're bringing world-class boxing, MMA, premium live events, athlete development, and global content distribution into one fighter-first organization. The… pic.twitter.com/uVVP9OFlol

— PFL (@PFLMMA) July 30, 2026

The merger of the companies emerges as a threat to the UFC and Dana White. Besides the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Zuffa Boxing has also been expanding significantly in the world of boxing. Given this, the bald boxer will have a new rival to worry about. It's worth noting that he and Jake Paul have exchanged several barbs over the years, mainly regarding issues related to athlete pay.

This situation had already happened in the past, when the PFL itself bought Bellator and merged the athletes into a single roster. The merger generated a series of contractual problems, to the point that some fighters publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the renegotiation of their salaries. In this context, names like Patrício Pitbull and Patchy Mix ended up leaving the organization and signing with the UFC.

Jake Paul hosted an event at Netflix.

Jake Paul at the Netflix press conference. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/Netflix

Despite becoming famous for his boxing matches against celebrities and former UFC fighters, Jake Paul has also expanded into the business world. Recently, MVP promoted the first MMA event in Netflix history, with Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano facing off in the main fight. In addition, names like Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz were also featured at the event.

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