MVP is entering MMA with fighter pay at the front of its message. Before the company’s May 16 Netflix event, co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said every fighter on the card is guaranteed at least $40,000, with no win bonus structure attached, and said the promotion’s revenue split will send more than 50 percent to athletes.
Most Valuable Promotions stages its first MMA event Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The card streams live on Netflix starting at 8 p.m. ET. Ronda Rousey faces Gina Carano in the main event. Nate Diaz meets Mike Perry in the co-main.
Francis Ngannou takes on Philippe Lins. Other matchups include Salahdine Parnasse vs. Kenneth Cross, Junior dos Santos vs. Robelis Despaigne, Adriano Moraes, Lorenz Larkin vs. Jason Jackson, Namo Fazil vs. Jake Babian, David Mgoyan vs. Albert Morales, and Aline Pereira vs. Jade Masson-Wong.
MVP’s Netflix MMA card offers $40,000 minimum and bonus pay, says Nakisa Bidarian
MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian detailed the pay during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. Every fighter gets at least $40,000 guaranteed. Fighters receive this amount regardless of win or loss, unlike UFC’s show-win splits that start at $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win for entry-level bouts.
“That’s all guaranteed, and then every fighter has a performance bonus in addition to that, which there are different levels depending on the fighter,” Bidarian said. Bidarian outlined the revenue split for MVP’s debut MMA card. Fighters take much more than 50% of revenue. The promotion aims to cover costs and return the rest to athletes.
“[The revenue share] is much higher than 50% to the fighters. Our objective is not to lose money and obviously make a little bit of money, but it’s really about putting the money back into the pockets of the fighters. They’re the ones risking their lives. They’re the ones people are paying to see, and we feel like we’ve lived up to that to this point,” Bidarian stated.
UFC allocates about 18-20% of revenue to fighters, per reports and fighter comments. Preliminary UFC fighters earn $4,000-$6,000 under promotional guidelines based on bout count, separate from fight purses. Fighters like Paddy Pimblett have called pay “heartbreaking” after seeing boxing deals under UFC ownership reach millions.
Rousey echoed the minimum earlier: even undercard fighters walk away with $40,000 if they lose. Bidarian set this as a baseline for future MVP MMA events. MVP, founded by Jake Paul and Bidarian in 2021, started in boxing before this MMA step. The Netflix deal marks pro MMA’s arrival on the platform.
This structure draws eyes as UFC faces ongoing pay debates. Dana White addressed complaints in March 2026. MVP positions fighters to earn more from the start. The card packs former champs and prospects for a stacked night.
