Controversial influencer Jake Paul has become one of the most powerful players in the boxing industry. A strategically astute business partner from the UFC universe has played a decisive role in this.

Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua: It’s a fight that many would have considered absurd just a few years ago. Remember: At the beginning of 2020, Joshua held four world titles and was the benchmark in heavyweight boxing. During the same period, Paul, then known only as a social media influencer, launched his boxing career as what appeared to be a marketing gimmick, with a duel against his British-Arab YouTuber colleague AnEsonGib in front of a few thousand spectators in a hotel complex in Miami, ridiculed by large parts of the scene.

Almost six years have passed since then. And during that time, Jake Paul has become one of the biggest power players in the industry – as a boxer, promoter and box office magnet.

Just over a year after his globally (and not only positively) acclaimed exhibition fight against boxing icon Mike Tyson, Paul is once again the main figure in an event that is attracting the interest of the masses. But what is the 28-year-old’s project, which has grown into an empire, all about? German Olympic hero Nelvie Tiafack is also active in Paul’s promotional company MVP. The story of boxing phenomenon Jake Paul is closely linked to a lesser-known shadow man behind the dazzling celebrity.

Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua: He is the shadow man

Nakisa Bidarian is the name of the man who can be considered the strategic mastermind behind Paul’s boxing career. The Iranian-born Canadian, a trained economist and former management consultant and investment banker, once met brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the two architects behind the rise of the UFC to a global brand, through a business acquaintance.

Bidarian joined the MMA promotion and rose to become its chief financial officer. In 2019, he came into contact with Paul, who was then known only as a controversial influencer, and helped him organize his debut fight. The following year, he was hired by martial arts streaming startup Triller as executive producer for the nostalgia fight between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. – and in that role, he signed Paul for an undercard fight against former NBA star Nate Robinson.

The huge success of the fight night—which had a lot to do with Paul’s tens of millions of followers on social media—made everyone involved realize the business potential of the “Problem Child.” And 47-year-old Bidarian became the operator of the money-making machine.

Nakisa Bidarian: From UFC CFO to boxing revolutionary

Bidarian and Paul founded Most Valuable Promotions in 2021 and now have over 40 boxers under contract.

The heavily marketed fights between Jake Paul and stars from other weight classes and combat sports are not the company’s only successful mainstay—MVP’s involvement in women’s boxing, where Bidarian identified a major marketing gap, was and continues to be groundbreaking.

Inspired by Ronda Rousey’s huge box office success at the UFC, Paul and Bidarian first signed top boxer Amanda Serrano.

Through intensive marketing on social media and other channels, MVP created a hype that quickly led to a historic milestone: Serrano’s world championship fight against Katie Taylor became the first-ever women’s fight to headline a fight night at the venerable Madison Square Garden in New York. The world’s most famous arena was sold out, and global fan interest in women’s boxing reached a new high.

German Olympic hero Tiafack is on board

The MVP project is a similar success story to the social media careers of Jake and his older brother Logan Paul – who are similarly active as podcasters, energy drink entrepreneurs, and WWE wrestlers.

While the sporting value of Jake Paul’s fights is still considered rather dubious, there is no denying that he has brought a breath of fresh air and new pop-cultural relevance to an industry that had lost much of its popularity and appeal, especially among younger audiences, in the shadow of the UFC boom of recent decades.

It’s no coincidence that Tiafack, who has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of the boxing business, decided to sign with MVP after winning Olympic bronze in the super heavyweight division in Paris in 2024. Tiafack has observed how Bidarian and Paul have transferred the UFC’s successful marketing concepts to boxing – and wants to benefit from this too.

UFC boss Dana White takes a less friendly view of the Paul empire, which competes with him for attention: He and Jake Paul have a lot in common – such as their political sympathy for Donald Trump – but Paul has made a name for himself many times through public attacks on White. Among other things, he accused White of paying his fighters too little and unfairly—a sensitive issue in the promoter business. Paul’s attacks on White initially led to a personal crisis with his business partner Bidarian, who is friends with White.

Paul vs. Joshua: The fight purse is breathtaking

Paul and Bidarian are now back on the same page and have landed their next coup with the fight against Joshua.

The big fight will take place on Saturday night at the Kaseya Center in Miami, which seats nearly 20,000 spectators. The show will once again be a global streaming event on Netflix, which outbid Joshua’s actual partner DAZN in the negotiations.

According to reports, the protagonists will share a purse of $184 million. Most of the money is now generated more by marketing phenomenon Paul than by Joshua—who now needs Paul more than Paul needs him in his fight for attention and a return to the boxing throne.