Jake Paul turned the MVP-PFL merger into a direct message for fighters who are still under contract elsewhere. The clip started with Dana White, then moved into Paul’s larger pitch: wait out the deal, keep leverage, and look at MVP-PFL when free agency opens.
The post went up on X after the merger announcement and carried a clear UFC target. Paul framed the new company as a boxing-and-MMA platform, then argued that the old route for building a name in MMA is no longer the only one.
“Dana White good morning buddy wake up it wasn’t a nightmare it’s real we continue to haunt this man 24-7”
“but forget about him because this is about us and this is about you potentially watching this the fighters at home listening”
Jake Paul just took a shot at Dana White and the UFC now that MVP and the PFL have merged
“Fighters are oftentimes left underpaid and put on a shelf”
“To any other fighters in any organization out there, you’re going to want to fight out your contracts and come join the biggest, the best, the highest paying, and the most viewed organization out there”
— Combat Casuals (@Combat_Casuals) July 31, 2026
Paul Targets The UFC Model
Paul said the combined company can put boxing and MMA under one roof. He also pointed to the first MVP MMA event, then compared its U.S. viewership with a UFC White House card while making the case that PFL gives the new operation an existing roster.
“MVP just merged with PFL we just created the first of its kind combat sports league that combines boxing and MMA together”
“over the past few years at MVP we’ve proven that we can do the biggest fights in the world”
“In our first MMA event we had nine million viewers watching in the United States compared to the UFC’s seven million at the White House card and they’ve been doing this for 30 years”
“now we add in PFL who has a world-class roster of hundreds of MMA fighters and some of which are the best in the world”
“The UFC will no longer be the place where people judge fighters as to who’s the best in the world is”
“and together it only strengthens our mission to put fighters first”
That section linked the merger back to Paul’s longer public fight with White over fighter pay. Paul previously put the UFC on notice after the MVP-PFL announcement, and White has had his own public exchanges around UFC fighter pay.
“UFC has done great for shaping MMA but the fighters are oftentimes left underpaid and put on a shelf if they don’t obey the company’s rules”
Paul used Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones as the example for a champion-level fighter waiting while a bigger UFC booking did not happen. He did not tell anyone to break a deal. His wording was about finishing contracts first.
“just look at Tom Aspinall for example John Jones who should have fought on the UFC White House card”
“It has always been our mission at MVP to put fighters first and to put them on the biggest platforms in the world”
“problem has been that the fighters want to be as famous and as well-known and build their brand as big as possible”
“but there was really only one place to go and do that in the sport of MMA”
“with this partnership with MVP and PFL we have seriously changed the game”
Nate Diaz And The Cage Debut
Paul also brought the message back to his own MMA plan. He beat Nate Diaz by unanimous decision in boxing in 2023, then kept calling for the cage version. The Diaz MMA fight has stayed in Paul’s public plans since his PFL deal.
“all hype and jokes aside this has been our mission from the start it’s finally coming to fruition”
“allowing fighters like Francis Ngannou and Nate Diaz another place to go where they can make even more money and get even more viewership”
“I’m not just watching boxing I’m not just watching MMA I’m watching both and now our fighters are able to compete across both platforms”
“and yes I’ve been talking about MMA and doing it for a long time but it’s official now with this new partnership I’m going to get into the cage Nate Diaz stop ducking”
“we need to make this happen for sports to change the world to change the history and the landscape of combat sports forever”
The final stretch of the video was aimed at fighters across combat sports. Paul described MVP-PFL as the landing spot once contracts expire, then ended with another line for White.
“to our fighters at MVP and PFL things just got a whole lot bigger”
“to any other fighters in any combat sports organizations out there you’re gonna want to fight out of your contracts and come join the biggest the best the highest paying and the most viewed organization out there is MVP”
“Buckle up there’s a new sheriff in town Dana it’s not just your dreams anymore it’s real welcome to the future of combat sports welcome to MVP”
Paul is 12-2 as a professional boxer with seven knockouts. His record includes wins over Diaz, Mike Tyson, Anderson Silva, Mike Perry, Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., with losses to Tommy Fury and Anthony Joshua. PFL’s merger materials said the new MVP structure includes nearly 400 athletes, with PFL bringing more than 300 fighters from over 40 countries into the company. The earlier MVP MMA 1 launch also put Diaz and Perry on the same Netflix card as Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, which set up the latest push for another Paul-Diaz fight under the merged banner.
