John Martin Leaves the CEO Role at the Merged PFL-MVP

The newly combined PFL and MVP organization has lost its chief executive. John Martin has stepped down as CEO of the company formed when the Professional Fighters League merged with MVP, the promotional business led by Jake Paul.

Martin's explanation

Martin announced the move on his personal Instagram account and presented it as his own decision. He described the past year as an incredible one, said the combination of PFL and MVP had been a success, and said he was proud of what the team had achieved and confident about what comes next.

He also pointed to his successor. Martin wrote that he had worked closely with Nakisa to bring the two companies together and that he considers him the natural person to lead the next chapter. He thanked the staff and the board and said he would keep cheering for MVP as both a former executive and a fan.

After the announcement, many wondered whether a power struggle had played out behind the scenes after the merger.

Rich Chou's comments

Rich Chou, now an executive at the new Ki MMA promotion, commented on the departure. He has worked through several mergers and acquisitions: he worked at Strikeforce when it acquired EliteXC and was still there when the UFC bought Strikeforce, and his career also includes Rumble on the Rock and Bellator MMA.

Chou said he has been on both sides of that kind of deal and that one side is a lot more fun and less stressful than the other.

It's a crazy sport and an even crazier business, man.

He added that he wishes everyone affected by the uncertainty well, that there are good people at the combined company, and that he hopes things settle down there soon.