By Scott B, Editor
Kneebar News offers a different take on the MMA world. Here are our latest findings and insights.
Kneebar News offers a different take on the MMA world. Here are our latest findings and insights.
Will Jake Paul put his money where his (big) mouth is?
Jake Paul regularly taunts UFC boss Dana White for underpaying fighters. But the Professional Fighters League (PFL)—the rival promotion that announced a merger with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) on July 30—is not in a position to brag.
The math isn’t flattering. Twenty-six fighters competed at UFC Seattle: Adesanya vs. Pyfer on March 28, the most recent card for which publicly-disclosed purses are available. According to our review of public payroll records obtained by MMA Mania, the median “show” pay—the guaranteed amount for entering the cage—was $66,500, ranging from $10,000 for Lerryan Douglas to $500,000 for Israel Adesanya.
By contrast, at PFL San Diego: McKee vs. Isbulaev on June 27, the median show pay among the night’s 18 fighters was $16,500. The figures ranged from $3,000 for Shannon Clark to $100,000 for A.J. McKee, per MMA Fighting.
In other words, UFC Seattle’s median show pay was roughly four times PFL San Diego’s. Will Paul’s newly-merged company become the industry leader in fighter pay? History recommends caution.
Just three years ago, Paul and the PFL announced another “historic” deal: a partnership to create PFL PPV Super Fights. Promises abounded. Fighters in the division collectively would receive 50% of revenue from those PPV events, a far larger share than UFC fighter historically earned. Paul—who was named the PFL’s Head of Fighter Advocacy under the deal—would compete in the division himself. The PFL promised to stage two Super Fights PPVs in 2023.
Those promised 2023 events never happened. Paul never fought. PFL PPV Super Fights didn’t debut until 2024, and it didn’t live to see 2025. Neither Paul nor the PFL has publicly said whether their 50% revenue‑sharing pledge was met.
TKO board members aren’t loading up on stock
It’s usually a positive sign for shareholders when a company’s board members buy stock.
So it’s noteworthy that over the past year, the directors of TKO Group—the parent company of the UFC and WWE—made relatively few open-market purchases.
Over the 12 months ending July 21, Executive Chair and CEO Ariel Emanuel, President and COO Mark Shapiro, and independent director Peter Bynoe were the only directors to buy shares for themselves, with Emanuel and Shapiro spending about $2 million each, and Bynoe roughly $150,000. Emanuel and Shapiro saw their personal holdings rise substantially over the period, but mostly from equity awards vesting.
Nick Khan went in the opposite direction. The WWE President’s personal stake in TKO Group fell roughly 69% over the 12-month period. He generated about $26.5 million from discretionary stock sales and sold additional shares worth $7.3-million more to cover taxes.
Shedding two-thirds of his stock is not proof that Khan is pessimistic about TKO Group. But the timing is curious: in May, Khan and WWE signed a 5-year employment deal potentially worth $98.5 million through 2030.
UFC’s Baku pledge has a familiar ring: money and autocracy
UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres, held on June 27, marked the UFC’s second straight year in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. It won’t be the last.
Under a multi-year deal with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, the UFC will host an annual Fight Night in Baku through 2028. The UFC’s 2025 debut was a hit, selling out a 14,000-seat arena. The host government also paid the UFC a “meaningful multimillion-dollar” site fee—the payment a government makes to land an event. Financial terms of the new deal remain undisclosed.
The partnership comes with baggage. Azerbaijan, led by President Ilham Aliyev since 2003, is widely described by human‑rights organizations as authoritarian, corrupt, and hostile to journalists and political opponents. Aliyev also maintains close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, whom he praised as a “brave man and a great leader” and nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
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