Ariel Helwani: Rest in Peace, PFL, Hopefully Now There's a True UFC Competitor

Renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has weighed in on the news of the merger between MVP MMA and PFL, with the expectation that the organization will operate under the new MVP MMA brand starting next year.

Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian's ambition is to seriously challenge the UFC, leveraging PFL fighters, the biggest star among them being Dakota Ditcheva.

"When MVP held its first MMA event on Netflix in May, we weren't sure if there would be a second. They said there would be, and that they were fully committed to the endeavor, but we didn't really know what MVP MMA was.

Well, now we know, because over the next few months, PFL will transition into MVP MMA. The goal is for PFL to undergo a complete rebranding, as they say in business, by January 2027, and become MVP MMA. This is precisely why the two organizations are merging.

Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian will continue to be the faces and, if you will, the big bosses of the company. They are co-founders and board members of the new entity. Jon Martin will serve as CEO of MVP MMA and will also be on the board.

Bidarian will continue to oversee MVP's boxing business and all of the organization's mega-events, specifically those on Netflix. The company will be backed by initial investors 885 Capital and Knighthead Capital Management.

MVP Boxing will continue to exist, and alongside it will be MVP MMA – the organization that PFL will transform into. They are truly throwing all their weight behind this venture.

I think one reason they wanted to announce the news today is that there are more than four months left until the end of 2026, and currently, PFL, or the future MVP MMA, doesn't have a new television rights deal in the United States. To offer such a product to various television networks and platforms, you need to present your vision. You need to explain what the future holds and who you are. That's difficult when everything is kept secret.

As I understand it, discussions began in April of this year, so it wasn't that long ago. Remember, around that time, Jon Martin was a guest on the show, and we were discussing rebranding ideas. Bellator's name was also among the options, no doubt about it.

However, after those initial conversations, there was clearly great synergy and a good relationship built between the two parties. Don't forget that Nakisa and Jake were part of PFL for several years. Now the management team is completely different. That was the era of Donn Davis and Peter Murray, but there's still a shared history between them.

Negotiations accelerated, became more intense, and here we are. The two organizations are merging to create, as they themselves describe it, a new global combat sports platform.

I was told that the relationship between Jon Martin and the executives at MVP and PFL has been excellent from the very beginning. Jon Martin has impressed me greatly since he came in and took over PFL. In my opinion, he is dedicated, motivated, hardworking, and sincere. He is open to change and new ideas. The discussions went very well, and everyone is extremely excited about this development.

So now we potentially have a true number two. Look, we've been in a similar situation before, especially in recent years. The same was said when PFL and Bellator merged, but ultimately, almost nothing came of it.

However, I believe that over the past five years, MVP, and especially Nakisa Bidarian, have done some very good things. Jake Paul is obviously the face of MVP, but I would venture to say that Nakisa Bidarian is the brains of the operation. This is not an insult to anyone. He worked for the UFC, was the company's CFO, and played a key role in its sale in 2016. He is an extremely intelligent person and clearly understands the combat sports business, having worked in the field for about 15 years now.

In my opinion, they've made some very good moves over the past five years. There are always things to criticize, but look at what they've achieved with MVP's boxing platform. Initially, it was seen as just an influencer Jake Paul's project, and now look at what it is, especially in women's boxing. There, they are unequivocally number one.

Earlier this week, they announced their partnership with Matchroom, which brought in boxers like Skye Nicolson, and there will certainly be others. They understand marketing, promotion, and social media, as well as everything else in that area.

This should prove to be a huge success. If you view MMA as a sport dominated by only one organization and want more competition, this news should make you happy. If you're a fighter, I think you should also be very excited. If you're looking for more opportunities, more parties to negotiate with, and a stronger position in those negotiations, this is great news for you.

As I've said many times, the PFL brand seemed completely lifeless. There was no momentum, no real fan loyalty. It wasn't like what we see with AEW and WWE. AEW fans are extremely dedicated. With PFL, we didn't see anything like the devotion that once existed for Strikeforce or Pride.

For some reason, MMA fans never truly fell in love with PFL and the brand itself. It just wasn't cool. Let's be honest – there was nothing particularly appealing about it. The logo, the letters, the name – I never felt it was a cool brand.

It's logical to assume that MVP will try to change that through rebranding, a new vision, and creating some momentum. They are essentially acquiring all the fighters on the roster – more than 200 competitors.

They have names like Dakota Ditcheva, who is fighting this weekend. As I said earlier this week, they need to find a way to keep Usman Nurmagomedov, but if they can't, then they can't. They need to start building and discovering new talent, and also be aggressive in the free agent market. They can't rely solely on their own talent. A combination is needed.

I'm very curious to see what happens, because when PFL and Bellator merged, it seemed like the de facto number two in MMA was born. However, I don't think anyone truly believed that the right people were there to challenge the UFC.

Let's be perfectly clear – the UFC is the global leader in mixed martial arts, and that won't change anytime soon. The organization is undoubtedly number one and has more than a 30-year head start. Nothing in that regard will change. The UFC is the gold standard. It has the biggest names, the best fighters, and the best production.

However, there's nothing wrong with being number two in combat sports. In MMA, we haven't had a true number two for a long time. We had an organization that was second simply by default, and there's a huge difference between the two.

We've had real second forces before, but in the last five or six years, we've only had a formal number two, which held that position because no one else was left. ONE Championship lost ground, Bellator also declined, and so PFL remained. However, it never seemed like the organization had gained the necessary momentum.

Of course, putting a new logo and creating a new vision won't suddenly make you a threat. The hope is that smart people will be involved in the project, that there will be unity among them, and that they will truly attack the market with full force.

Ultimately, what can make you a real threat is having a suitable television deal. The big question now is what will happen when they start offering their product to different platforms. They have relationships with Netflix and ESPN.

Is ESPN interested in MMA again? Let's be honest – the network had practically withdrawn from that business. It was just waiting for the remaining time on the PFL contract to expire, and I don't blame them for that. There was almost nothing there to generate excitement.

But now that these people are part of the organization and after they sealed the deal for MVPW's women's boxing, will ESPN be interested again? What about Netflix? Do they want to broadcast more events, or do they prefer to limit themselves to two, three, or four mega-events? Does the new MVP MMA have enough interesting proposals for them? What do they think at FOX now that these people are involved?

They should now be able to walk into such a meeting and say, "This is us. Do you want to join?"

We'll only be able to judge if this will become a real threat once we know what their television platform will be. If it comes to a scenario where the organization itself pays for television time – I don't expect that to happen, but I'm giving it as an example – or if the deal is very disappointing, then they won't mean much.

However, if they strike a big deal where some events are in one place, others in another, and Netflix, ESPN, Prime Video, or a similar platform are involved, then we'll have something serious. We'll have to wait and see.

We are living in an incredibly interesting time. It's been a long time since we've seen a genuine attempt to build a real number two. Again, I want to be completely clear – I'm not saying they can become number one anytime soon. The UFC is far, far ahead of everyone else.

But if you bring in Netflix – the biggest streaming platform in the world – you get a huge head start. Look at the ratings and viewership for Ronda and Gina. If something similar happens, anything is possible in terms of momentum and the speed at which the project can develop. If the deal is with another platform, we'll see what happens.

This is an extremely interesting moment. What a week for these people! They announced a strategic partnership with Matchroom. They brought in Skye Nicolson, which I never thought would happen. And now they've pulled off this huge merger between PFL and MVP.

MVP will be the main brand. If everything goes as I've been told, MVP MMA should launch in January. The full rebranding will take some time, and I'm extremely curious to see how things unfold.

They are going all-in on this venture. Everyone was asking what MVP MMA was. What is MVP MMA? What does it all mean? What will it lead to?

We now know the answer. Now we await their television deal, what everything will look like from a brand perspective, and how the product will be distributed. What will this actually mean?

We know that Nakisa and Jake are the co-founders and, if you will, the big bosses. Jon Martin will be the CEO. Jake and Nakisa will continue to focus on the boxing side, while Jon Martin will lead MVP MMA.

Tomorrow, Friday, they have an event in Long Island featuring two of their biggest stars. In a sense, it seems fitting to kick off this new era in this way. I know we're still talking about PFL, but their top names will be at the event.

BITB will be live at 1 PM Eastern Time to provide a full analysis of the news. Stay tuned for what they have to say. Obviously, we will continue to cover the topic in detail as events unfold.

I advise you to visit Uncrowned.com right now. Let me quickly see what they're writing about it there. Yes, that's right. Everything is published.

There's also a statement from Nakisa Bidarian that I can quickly read to you:

"Our goals at MVP have always been bigger than simply building a boxing promotional company. Our ambition is to build the future of combat sports through an approach that truly puts fighters first. In less than five years, MVP has become one of the most influential and culturally significant brands in the industry. We've organized some of the biggest events in combat sports history, elevated women's boxing to unprecedented heights, and attracted millions of new fans to combat sports.

The success of MVP MMA's first event confirmed our belief that there is demand for a modern approach to MMA that prioritizes fighters. This merger accelerates our MMA ambitions while strengthening our ability to continue investing in boxing and MVPW. Now the real fun begins. As the great DMX says: Let's get it on."

Okay. I thought he was going to quote "One More Road to Cross." Anyway.

The news is huge. It will take me some time to process it. After all, it's only 8:15 AM here. We're considering everything, and I want to know your opinion.

Will this endeavor succeed? Will it be something big? Will it become a true number two? Will fighters view this organization as a real opportunity? Will they move to it, sign contracts, and negotiate? These are all things we want to see in MMA.

By the way, the emergence of such an organization would be the best thing for the UFC too. If you're a huge UFC fan, you should want there to be a true number two. Look at what AEW did for WWE – it forced the company to raise its game.

Currently, no one is breathing down the UFC's neck. There's no organization truly trying to compete with it. As a result, sometimes the product seems somewhat complacent. That wouldn't be the case if a true number two existed.

If you're a big fan of the sport, you should support this. If you're a fan of the fighters, you should also support it. If you're a proponent of the free market and don't want a monopoly, you should wish for the success of this project.

Rest in peace, PFL. Not quite yet, but for now. The same applies to Bellator to some extent. Thank goodness they didn't rebrand with the Bellator name. Can you imagine what we'd be talking about now if they had? That would have been depressing.

A new era is beginning. Let's see how it all unfolds," Helwani said.