Jake Paul's MVP can overtake UFC: CEO talks Paul-Canelo, Shields ban and more

It might have sounded like California dreaming when Most Valuable Promotions held its first MMA event at the home of the Los Angeles Clippers and fueled talk of overtaking the UFC. Only the talk continues the week after Ronda Rousey beat Gina Carano 17 seconds into their comeback fight at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Nakisa Bidarian, MVP’s CEO and co-founder with Jake Paul, said he does think their combat sports promotion company could overtake UFC. “Seven to 10 years from now, that’s possible,’’ Bidarian told USA TODAY Sports. “There's no world where anyone can overtake the NBA, the NFL, the UFC, MLB in a two- to three-year period. And those that have tried have failed.’’ Overtaking the UFC will require a long-term plan, said Bidarian, who worked for the UFC from 2011 to 2016 as CFO and Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business. “They are the massive incumbent brand,’’ he said of the UFC, “but that's where the opportunity lies because they're a massive incumbent brand who's focused on 10 different things, but also isn't fighter first.” Fighter first is the catchphrase MVP used in an attempt to separate itself from the UFC with higher fighter pay while partnering with Netflix on his MMA debut. “So if we can come in, have the right distribution partner and start to show a pathway for young athletes, not just about now, you have to have long-term strategy,’’ he said. “Show a pathway for young athletes to have an option that has similar capabilities, then I think we can be a real player over the next seven to 10 years.’’ The early returns look promising, with Netflix announcing viewership for the MVP MMA1 event peaked at 17 million. “I think we're in a pretty good starting position,’’’ Bidarian said, “but we are a speck on the UFC.’’ Jake Paul vs. Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend 2027, anyone? “That's definitely something that we would look at,’’ Bidarian said. Paul, 29, recently said he talked to Alvarez, and that the Mexican boxing star wants $200 million to fight, and that Paul has the money. Bidarian didn’t sound overzealous about the talks. “I'll let Jake handle that with Canelo directly and when the time comes that I feel they're real and they don't have an interloper, then I'll reengage,’’ he said. Paul has dangled a fight against Canelo as his return the boxing ring. His last appearance came in December when he suffered a broken jaw in a sixth-round knockout loss to Anthony Joshua. During MVP MMA1 starring Ronda Rousey, Paul renewed his talk of taking a mixed martial arts fight. How about Paul fighting at MVP’s next MMA event? “No, I don't think that's plausible,’’ Bidarian said. “But I have 100% conviction that if Jake Paul goes back into sparring and is able to box -- because everyone's like, ‘Will he ever fight again?’ Well, yes. He's gotten clearance to spar starting two months from now. Everything has healed well. “But the reality is until you're back in the ring or the cage and you get hit flush, you don't know.’’ The relationship between MVP and Claressa Shields hit a rough patch, if not a dead end. Shields lashed out at MVP after the company issued a statement banning her from its future events following an altercation Shields had with MVP-backed boxer Alycia Baumgardner at MVP MMA1 May 16. But Bidarian said he thinks things can be resolved. “If she takes responsibility and apologizes for the action,’’ he said. MVP’s statement indicated Shields made contact with Baumgardner during a heated verbal exchange captured by video. “Of course they were talking to each other back and forth, but there's a time and place,’’ Bidarian said. “You're a guest of the event. You were provided VIP tickets and VIP access to an area that is filled with celebrities, athletes, comedians, Netflix executives, MVP executives, and that's what occurs. It's just not appropriate. And so we have to send a strong message that we're not going to tolerate that going forward.’’ MVP courted Shields before she signed with her former promoter and a new business partner in November.