MVP and PFL Set 2027 Rebrand as Jake Paul Publicly Courts Top Fighters

Overview

• MVP confirmed a merger with the Professional Fighters League that will convert the combined company to the MVP brand in 2027.
• Jake Paul and co‑founder Nakisa Bidarian have been openly recruiting fighters at recent PFL events, including reported backstage offers such as cars to entice talent.
• Paul tried to recruit Khabib Nurmagomedov to come out of retirement but Khabib declined and later mocked the pitch, showing limits to converting public courting into signings.
• Usman Nurmagomedov finished his PFL contract after headlining the New York card and is now a top free agent with reported interest from both the new MVP‑PFL entity and the UFC.
• Bidarian is using a promise of higher fighter revenue shares and MVP’s global distribution as bargaining tools but landing one or two marquee names and resolving U.S. broadcast deals will be critical to the brand rollout and investor expectations.