UFC CEO Dana White isn’t losing any sleep over the newly announced merger between the Professional Fighters League and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.
Just one day after PFL and MVP revealed plans to combine their operations into a new global combat sports company, White dismissed the idea that the venture poses any threat to the UFC’s dominance.
Instead, the longtime UFC boss responded with a mixture of sarcasm, confidence, and a reminder of where he believes the UFC stands in the sports world.
White Takes a Shot at the Merger
Speaking with Oscar Willis of The Mac Life on Friday, White admitted he hasn’t paid much attention to the newly formed promotion.
He then offered a blunt assessment of the partnership.
“I don’t know anything about what they’re doing,” White said. “It probably makes sense when sh*t isn’t working for anybody, we should all get together.”
White continued with an even sharper jab.
“Let’s take two organizations that don’t sell tickets and nobody watches, and let’s merge them together and make a bigger company that we won’t sell tickets to and nobody will watch.”
The comments immediately became one of the biggest talking points following Thursday’s merger announcement.
UFC Competing With Major Sports
According to White, the UFC’s competition extends far beyond mixed martial arts.
Rather than comparing his company to organizations like Bellator, PFL, or now MVP MMA, White believes the UFC operates alongside the biggest sports leagues in North America.
“I’ve said this 100 times… I don’t look at any of those guys as our competition.”
He added:
“We’re in a whole other f*cking stratosphere now.”
For White, the UFC’s true competitors are the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and other major entertainment properties that compete for fans’ attention on a global scale.
Good Luck to MVP
Despite his criticism of the merger, White ultimately wished the new promotion success. He has consistently maintained that having multiple healthy organizations benefits the overall growth of mixed martial arts.
“Those guys aren’t my competition, so good luck to them all.”
He concluded with a simple message.
“I wish them all the best.”
A New Rival Emerges?
The merger between PFL and Most Valuable Promotions officially creates one of the largest combat sports companies outside the UFC.
Led by Jake Paul, Nakisa Bidarian, and former PFL executive John Martin, the organization plans to combine boxing, MMA, athlete development, and live event promotion under a single fighter-focused brand beginning in 2027.
Questions remain about television and streaming rights, roster integration, and whether the company can consistently attract elite talent. Still, the combined resources of PFL and MVP represent the most ambitious challenge to UFC’s market share in years.
UFC Still Sees Itself Alone at the Top
Whether the new MVP organization develops into a legitimate competitor remains to be seen. Dana White, however, appears unconcerned.
While others view the merger as a potentially game-changing moment for mixed martial arts, the UFC president continues to believe his company occupies a tier of its own one measured not against other MMA promotions, but against the biggest names in professional sports and global entertainment.
For now, White’s message couldn’t be clearer: The UFC isn’t looking over its shoulder.
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Robert LaMar is a Deputy Editor for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
