The UFC might find itself in trouble after Nakisa Bidarian, the co-founder of MVP, shed light on the revenue-sharing model behind their inaugural MVP MMA event. The Jake Paul-led promotion is set to host its first MMA card on May 16, headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, in Inglewood, California. And ahead of the big event this Saturday, Bidarian appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show to detail the financial structure behind the promotion, and the contrast with the UFC’s model was the subtext throughout.

“Much higher than 50% to the fighters,” Bidarian said of their revenue share. “Our objective is not to lose money, to obviously, make a little bit of money, but it’s really about putting the money back in the pocket of the fighters. They’re the ones risking their lives. They’re the ones that people are paying to see, and we feel like we’ve lived up to that to this point, and we’re going to continue to live up to that.”

This is refreshing coming from a promotion yet to see their first event go live. While MVP is paying its lowest-paid athlete on the card a guaranteed $40K as base pay, the UFC shells out around $12-20K as base pay for its entry-level fighters. The numbers are slightly higher at $50K for mid-tier veterans. So, it’s all the more impressive that Jake Paul’s MVP is already leading by example.

The disparity between them and the UFC is because the premier MMA promotion famously doesn’t follow a strict revenue-sharing model. On average, their fighters receive less than 20% of the company’s revenue.

In January 2024, during the UFC antitrust lawsuit hearing, unsealed court documents from the company revealed a secret 2013 Mercer revenue study commissioned by Lorenzo Fertitta himself that found that the UFC paid exactly 18.6% of its total revenue to its fighters. The number hasn’t gone up by much today either.

In comparison, boxing paid its fighters 62.5% of their revenue, a reflection of its decentralized business model. The number was much higher for some sports, like Major League Soccer, which at 76% topped the list of organizations with the highest revenue share paid to its athletes.

While the biggest names in the UFC can command bigger paychecks, lesser names within the promotion often have to take a second job just to survive. This is even though the UFC generated approximately $1.5 billion in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, representing a 7% year-over-year increase.

Not to mention, in 2026, the UFC also kicked off their $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount. While the promotion has raised its post-fight bonuses, the fighter pay has largely remained the same. Fighters in the prelims often get $12K to show and $12K to win. However, fighters in the new MVP MMA card are making much more than that, regardless of where on the card they are fighting.

Previously, Ronda Rousey claimed that every fighter on her May 16 card is making at least $40K, with a no-show/win structure. Helwani asked Bidarian about the same.

Co-founder confirms Jake Paul’s MVP is paying out a $40K minimum

Speaking further in the interview, Bidarian took a deeper dive into the minimum pay structure for their MMA bouts moving forward. He revealed that his business partner, Jake Paul, had always intended to help fighters by eventually creating a fighters’ union.

“When I met Jake Paul the first time, when he was 22, he said, ‘I want to start a fighters union.’ And I said, ‘I’m not your guy, but I appreciate the sentiment,’” Bidarian recalled. “I think we’re looking at this event and anything we do going forward as MVP, as an independent entity, to have a minimum of $40,000 for fighters to fight in MMA.

“No, [it’s not for show/win]. [$40k] is guaranteed,” Bidarian added. “And then every fighter has a performance bonus in addition to that. [And it] depends on the fighter.”

However, the exact amount of that bonus has not been disclosed yet. Bidarian stated that he still needs to discuss the matter with Jake Paul, adding that the details will be announced at the appropriate time. What he did confirm, though, is that performance bonuses on MVP MMA cards are guaranteed.

Whether MVP can sustain this pay structure beyond a single high-profile event will determine how seriously the UFC needs to take it as a long-term competitive threat.