‘It Fully Makes Sense’, Jake Paul About MMA Merger

Seven months after his nearly career-ending injury, the entrepreneurial Jake Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) is branching out once again. And now, after announcing the merger of his company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), with the MMA organization, Professional Fighters League (PFL), Paul just has one thing to say about this union of boxing and MMA: “It just makes sense.”

Talking to ESPN, Paul opened up about his plans to get back inside the ring once again.

“I’m gonna be boxing very soon. I’m just getting back into the ring and into training. We’re having multiple fight negotiations going on with different opponents and figuring out what the perfect next step is. And then, hopefully, we’ll get into MMA in 2027,” he said.

The broken jaw he suffered in his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in late 2025 required surgery, forced him onto a liquid diet during the early stages of recovery, and initially raised concerns about how quickly, or even whether, he would return to boxing. Over the following months, Paul said his jaw was healing well, but he couldn’t immediately resume full training because the impact vibrations from heavy bag work placed stress on the healing bone.

With the MVP-PFL merger, he aims to create a combined combat sports organization that aims to compete directly with the UFC. The new venture brings together PFL’s MMA infrastructure and roster with MVP’s promotional model and proven ability to attract mainstream audiences through platforms such as Netflix. Paul and his business partner, Nakisa Bidarian, have said their vision is to build a promotion that allows athletes to move more freely between boxing and MMA.

“I’ve been saying I want to do MMA. It just never has made sense. And now, it fully makes sense with these two companies combined. So, it’s going to be a very exciting next 12 months for me. I’ll be busy in both boxing and MMA fights,” he said. “The most important thing is the infrastructure and the capital that’s needed to compete in this large market. There are lots of opportunities here.”

“Coming For You”

And what’s a Paul interview without a sly dig at another person, just that his current victim happens to be UFC boss Dana White.

“The next step is more MMA events. Now we have over 400 fighters on our roster, so it’s about building out our championship fighters, building out superstars within the sport, just like we’ve done with Amanda Serrano and Alycia Baumgardner. So, more fighters, more promotions, more events for the fans, making the biggest fights in boxing and MMA happen,” he said. “Dana, we’re coming for you, baby come on. I know you’re losing sleep.”

Joshua Ben Joseph

Joshua Ben Joseph is a Boxing writer renowned for his unparalleled coverage of live events and insightful interviews with prominent athletes in the world of combat sports. With a career spanning over several years, he has authored more than 800 articles. As an experienced editorial cartoonist and investigative journalist, Joshua has a keen eye for detail and a passion for delivering quality content. Aside from his writing, Joshua is an avid powerlifter and solo traveler, embodying the same spirit of determination and exploration that he brings to his work. With a deep love for the sport of boxing that dates back to childhood, he is committed to delivering the highest quality content and helping to build a more transparent and credible industry.

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