Jake Paul's MVP announce blockbuster MMA deal that could rival the UFC

Most Valuable Promotions, Jake Paul's combat sports promotion company, have announced a huge merger deal that could see it rival the UFC.

Back in May, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) held its first-ever Mixed Martial Arts event with former UFC legends Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano clashing in the main event.

The fight card, which was held at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, was broadcast live on Netflix with an average audience of 9.3 million and a US "peak audience" of 11.6 million.

Comparatively, the UFC'S historic White House card, a pay-per-view event with two title fights, averaged 8.2 million viewers across the US and Latin America.

Due to the colossal platform available to MVP through Netflix, many MMA fans have been eager to see what would be next for the promotion.

And it's now been revealed that in a colossal deal, MVP has merged with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) to bring together both boxing and MMA events under one banner.

The two companies will combine to create a new sports platform under the MVP banner, with the PFL becoming eventually becoming MVP MMA after a brand migration that will take place over the next few months.

Paul, who was previously signed with the PFL but never made his debut, and Nakisa Bidarian, a close ally of Paul's, will lead the new company with PFL CEO John Martin serving as the company's CEO and as a Board Member.

As part of the move, MVP will now have nearly 400 elite athletes on its roster, including the likes of Usman Nurmagomedov, the highly rated younger cousin of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, Paul Hughes and Dakota Ditcheva.

They join names like Rousey, Francis Ngannou, Mike Perry and Nate Diaz, who all fought on the MVP event in May.

"We started MVP to disrupt a broken model," Paul said after the deal was confirmed.

"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."

Paul, who is yet to compete in MMA, also confirmed that he will soon return not just to the boxing ring, but also to the octagon.

He added: "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."

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Who could Jake Paul fight in his MMA debut?

With Paul's first MMA fight seemingly confirmed, fans will now start looking ahead to speculate who he could face in his debut.

An MMA rematch with Diaz, who Paul has beaten in the boxing ring, would be the most obvious choice as the pair have regularly teased that a meeting in the octagon could happen.

Perry, who beat Diaz in the debut MVP MMA event, could be another sensible pick, with a deal for the fight likely to be easy to make following the merger.

However, an outside shout that would undoubtedly be the most exciting option is former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Although an MMA fight between Paul and Usyk seems far fetched, the Ukrainian boxing legend has teased the match up in the past.

Replying to Paul on X in September, Usyk wrote: "Soon, I'll close the book on boxing, and after that, I'll be waiting for you in the cage. Let's see if you've got the [bravery for it] or just a hunger for hype."

Bidarian later confirmed that initial positive talks about the fight had taken place, meaning it could still be on the cards for sometime in the future.