The combat sports landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian is making sure the incumbent monopoly feels every single tremor. Following the blockbuster merger between MVP and the Professional Fighters League (PFL), Bidarian laid out a fiercely "fighter-first" vision on Wednesday that takes direct, unvarnished aim at UFC CEO Dana White.

A New Challenger Emerges

Announced last week, the merger between Jake Paul’s MVP and the PFL will culminate in 2027, creating a unified global combat sports entity operating under the MVP banner. For Bidarian—who previously served as the UFC’s Chief Strategy Officer and CFO before helping orchestrate its sale to Endeavor—the move is deeply personal and highly strategic. He believes the current market leader has fundamentally lost touch with the athletes who bleed for the sport.

Bidarian did not mince words regarding his former employer’s treatment of its roster. He pointed to White’s recent dismissive interaction with a reporter—where the UFC boss bluntly called a question "stupid"—as emblematic of a broader irreverence toward the fighters who actually generate the product's value.

"I had the privilege of being at the UFC... They’re the best promotional entity in the world. But I also saw what things I would do better. I think his reaction to our deal is in the same weekend where a reporter asked him, ‘What fight are you most excited about?’ and he said to that reporter, ‘That’s a stupid question.’... That’s the irreverence of what that has become in terms of fighters and the product." — Nakisa Bidarian, MVP Co-Founder

The 'Coke and Pepsi' of MMA

Bidarian envisions a platform where fighters receive "the vast majority" of event revenue and retain ownership of their intellectual property. Having already shattered U.S. viewership records with the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano boxing match earlier this year, MVP believes it possesses the promotional alchemy required to challenge the UFC's three-decade hegemony.

While acknowledging that MVP is not yet on the UFC's level in terms of historical footprint, Bidarian drew a striking analogy to the world's most famous corporate rivalries.

"There’s Nike and Adidas. There’s Coke and Pepsi. We want it to be UFC and MVP," Bidarian declared. "We’re not fooling ourselves to say we’re going to be the reference brand for the sport in the next year or two, but give us a little bit of time. Let our expertise in Gen Z and Gen Alpha continue to show you how we differentiate from that existing platform."

The Battle for the Sport's Soul

Bidarian also alleged that the UFC is actively working behind the scenes to "hurt our business" and stifle MVP's marketing capabilities, a claim that adds a layer of acrimony to the burgeoning rivalry. As the UFC continues to dominate global pay-per-view buys and stadium gates, the emergence of a well-funded, media-savvy challenger backed by Paul and Bidarian promises a new era of leverage for fighters. Whether MVP can truly disrupt the UFC's stranglehold remains to be seen, but the battle lines for the future of mixed martial arts have officially been drawn.

Further reading: Read the original report on MMA Fighting