Jake Paul on his biggest pivot in sports and business, taking punches, why he feels he can play in the NFL, the true value of Nakisa Bidarian brings to MVP Sports and the blockbuster move to partner with PFL and John Martin to expand into MMA.

After ringing the Nasdaq bell, Jake Paul is putting the world on notice once again that he is shaking up the sports and business world with his latest knock out move. Jake and Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian join The Pivot Podcast fresh off the blockbuster announcement of their merger with the PFL alongside CEO John Martin. In a wide-ranging conversation, Jake opens up about the mindset that's fueled his rise—from the "delusional confidence" that helped him bet on himself to building one of the biggest brands in sports and entertainment. He and Nakisa break down their vision for changing combat sports, protecting fighters, creating new opportunities, and why they believe they can compete with the UFC. Jake also reflects on his boxing journey, the critics who have motivated him every step of the way, and why proving doubters wrong continues to drive him. He even shares why he believes he could have played slot receiver in the NFL, while opening up about his long-term goals of building generational wealth, starting a family, and creating a legacy that extends far beyond the ring. It's an honest conversation about ambition, disruption, business, and what it takes to keep betting on yourself when the world says you can't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Go long.

• 0:01Speaker 01

  No, I'm not throwing a football with my favorite son, Charles. I'm talking to my new Duke Cannon Puck of Soap. It's triple mill to last longer and retain its shape down to the last nub. In fantasy football terms, you could say this long-lasting soap takes no bye weeks, or that it's bench-proof, or even that it's a sure-fire league championship winner. Duke Cannon Pucks of Soap are built for guys who want a hard-working, long-lasting soap. Catch one yourself at dukecannon.com or a Target store near you. Duke Cannon Pucks of Soap, triple mill to last longer.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Two men set out to disrupt the fight game. Jake Paul and Nikita Bidarian built Most Valuable Promotions with one goal: change the business of boxing. And now, they've made their biggest move yet, joining forces with PFL CEO John Martin in a move that could reshape combat sports. But the four boardrooms and billion-dollar deals, Bidarian's story began with sacrifice. His family fled a comfortable life in Iran to protect his older brother from war. And after losing that brother, he made one promise to himself: he'd give his mother the life she once had. And Jake Paul, I mean, I guess now we know he's far from a YouTuber. Despite what Chan told him five years ago, he's a boxer, an entertainer, a promoter,

• 1:14Ryan Clark?

  and depending on when and who you ask, the biggest agitator in sports. I mean, wait till you hear dude's football takes. John Martin understands the business of fighting. But more than anything else, he understands entertainment and actual business. Now, a former UFC employee in Bidarian and a man who once tried to buy the UFC in John Martin are taking aim at the industry's biggest empire. I mean, we talk Disney firings, thanks a lot, Fred, broken jaws, slot receivers, billion-dollar business moves, and the future of combat sports. I mean, we get into it all. I mean, like, literally, we get into it.

• 1:57Ryan Clark?

  So now Jake Paul, Nikita Bidarian, and John Martin join the pivot with me, Chan, and Freddie T. Big moves are being made. I mean, you could say this is their biggest pivot.

• 2:29Ryan Clark?

  Well, fellas, again, we shooting in New York. It's a good reason this time, sitting with the co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions: Nikita Bidarian, Jake Paul. Man, what you guys have created is absolutely phenomenal. This is Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, I'm Ryan Clark. Just a little background, Nikita, on you, though. This isn't where your life always was, right? You, your mother, and your siblings, you guys have to move during the war. You lose a brother. Talk a little bit about how some of those things inspired you to work this way.

• 3:04Speaker 00

  Yeah, we were in a very privileged situation when we lived in Iran, who's currently, obviously, in war with the US. And we fled the country because of the impending war between Iran and Iraq, where in the 80s, they were sending boys as young as 12, 13, 14 years old into battle to walk over mines, to clear the way for the soldiers. So we decided to move to America for my brother's sake. And we had a great, you know, great but tough life. Unfortunately, he lost his life in America. And that was really a wake-up call for me. And it's pretty serendipitous for me to be here today in Quad Studios, where Tupac Shakur was shot in 1994, because the last time I saw my brother, he gave me my first Tupac CD.

• 3:47Speaker 00

  So thrilled to be here, turned that into, you know, focus and hard work to try to return my mom to the life that she used to have. And spent many years as a consultant on Wall Street, as an investor, and then in 2011, moved to Las Vegas at the UFC.

• 4:05Fred Taylor?

  And on the other side of that, everybody knows Jake Paul. But who is Jake Paul? The last time we saw each other, Jake, I think it was fresh off the pandemic.

• 4:13Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 4:14Fred Taylor?

  And this guy next to you called you a YouTuber.

• 4:16Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 4:17Fred Taylor?

  But you're so much more than that, we've seen. But who is Jake Paul? If you can tell us that.

• 4:23Speaker 04

  Yeah, I'm a kid from Cleveland, born and raised, and just like come from a normal, like, blue-collar family. And really just love sports, love hanging out with my friends and family. I like food a lot, Thanksgiving. I feel like I'm a lot like my grandpa. Shout out to Grandpa Spike. But I just like cars and things like that, driving fast. And some of my fondest memories growing up were just being at my dad's cabin, just being outdoors, in nature, chasing cows around, riding ATVs.

• 5:03Speaker 04

  But deep within me and my soul, and just like who I am, is a builder and a creative. And me and my brother started making videos at a very young age, just because we loved doing it. And YouTube had just come out at that point. We were pretty bored in Ohio. Like, my dad would lock us out of the house when he would have to go work on a job. And we just like didn't have anything to do, so we just decided to entertain ourselves. And that's really where the creative background came in, just being outside, filming and making videos and posting them.

• 5:44Speaker 04

  But I think there's always been this entrepreneurial spirit as a part of who I was.

• 5:49Channing Crowder?

  And entrepreneurial spirit, I get it now. Now the creators and the streamers and all are making millions. So I understand it now. I didn't understand it five years ago. But why do you continue to push? Like, now you're trying to fight. We just saw Anthony Joshua break your goddamn jaw. Like, what, like, why?

• 6:09Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chan, you don't try to fight and get your jaw, bro. You gotta actually get in the fight.

• 6:13Channing Crowder?

  Well, I was sorry. You didn't try to fight, you did fight.

• 6:16Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 6:17Channing Crowder?

  But we're watching you, like, what is the push? Why do you keep going further and further? And I saw you recently say you're gonna play in the NFL. Like, how about you enjoy your millions and chill, bro?

• 6:28Speaker 04

  That's not what it's about, you know? Like, I like doing fun, crazy things and proving people wrong and building a career and a legacy that could never be matched or copied and something unique in its own right, and then bringing up people with me. I mean, that's what we've done with MVP. And since the start, it was like, alright, clearly I can change boxing as like a fighter, but I can be more impactful outside of the ring and help other fighters who were underpaid and not having the spotlight that they deserved. And the business of boxing was very weird, shady, corrupt. And so, we came in and just like really professionalized it. But I do chill on my ranch. I got 6,000 acres. I do have a lot of, a lot of.

• 7:18Speaker 04

  But, but yeah, it's like, I do enjoy this life. I enjoy working, I enjoy creating and bringing things to life and.

• 7:27Speaker 00

  He's only 29. I mean, he's got a long way to go. If you think about what he's accomplished by this age, not just as a creator, but as a boxer, as a promoter, it's unheard of. But that drive is, is like insane. He was texting me last night about now we turned this into a $5 billion company. So I'm excited that he still has that desire to build and disrupt and become leaders in everything that he does.

• 7:52Ryan Clark?

  That's what I want to ask about, though, the disruption, right? You guys at MVP were the first to ever get a female fighter a seven-figure payday in Amanda Serrano. And then, and now you guys move in to mixed martial arts? I mean, Francis Nganu is on the card, Ronda Rousey, Mike Perry, Nate Diaz. Like, I'm a huge mixed martial arts fan. As you've continued to build and add extra pieces, what was the start of the vision in saying to yourself, okay, this is what we eventually want to be? And how did you guys put some of those goals and checkmarks in place?

• 8:29Speaker 00

  First time I met Jake was October of 2019. I didn't know who he was, shame on me. But he said, hey, I want to be a fighter, I want to be a rapper, I want to be an actor, I want to be an investor, and I'm a YouTuber. And most importantly, I want to start a fighters' union because fighters don't get paid enough. And I think they're the creators, because he was a creator, they should be getting paid more. And that was really the start of it, and I quickly came to realize that if Jake was serious about boxing, which he was, not only could we make him one of the biggest stars of all time in the sport, he's been in the sport for five years, three of the past five years, he's been the top 50 paid athletes of all time, but really using the attention that he brings, right?

• 9:12Speaker 00

  The eyeballs that focus on him to build a platform, to provide push for other fighters, and then do deals that disrupt the entire landscape. If you think about Amanda Serrano that we mentioned earlier, the first time two women ever headlined Madison Square Garden was Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, MVP put that event on in 2022 and gave it the first seven-figure payday in women's boxing. We've obviously quadrupled down in women's boxing. We have the largest stable of women in the world, and we're partners with ESPN in the U.S., Sky in the U.K., and now it's turned into the focus of what can we do in MMA? And that first event set records. We have the highest viewership in the history of the United States of America for an MMA event. And that's pretty amazing when you think they had an event at the White House

• 9:58Speaker 00

  with the most famous man in the world and President Trump pushing that event. When Conor McGregor came back a few weeks ago after five years. For us to achieve that, it was clear that MMA was the next leg of our strategy.

• 10:10Ryan Clark?

  Well, and speaking of that, you know, you were, you've been in the building at the UFC. You understand what that vehicle is, what that monster has become. Tell us a little bit about this merger now that's been announced with PFL, and you know, we'll talk to their CEO here soon as well. What was the vision in that? Because if you look at some of the fighters that they have on the card now, even in the fight that we'll be seeing soon in Namur Gamedov, and you have Colgan, you have Dakota, who's undefeated as well. There's a stable of fighters there that are ready to become stars, and you guys seem like the star makers.

• 10:53Speaker 00

  Yeah, I think, look, it all goes back to what Jake and I always say, we're a fighter-first organization. UFC was the great learning ground for me, both good and bad. And there's no doubt that they're the best promotional entity in the world in terms of being a large organization that has capabilities that others don't. But what we've done in five years, no sports entity in history has. And we've done it without losing a single dollar. We've broken record after record. And there's no better person in the world than Jake Paul to bring attention and engagement to a product. So PFL has amazing athletes. John Martin, who is our new CEO, sent me an article not too long ago that says, "PFL is on an incredible run, but more people need to watch and know about it." And that's what we're going to do together.

• 11:36Channing Crowder?

  I want to ask, how did you change the structure? How did y'all change the structure for fighters? Because you keep saying it's way different, you're empowering fighters. How did you change the structure?

• 11:44Speaker 00

  Number one is the revenue share, right? The vast majority of the revenue, always 50% plus, should go to the fighters. That doesn't exist at UFC. They always say, oh, fighter compensation has gone up, but it hasn't kept up with the entity's compensation. As you guys know, in most ball and stick sports, the ref's share is 50%, close to. That's nowhere near the case with UFC and TKO. They have some of the biggest margins in the world, and that's driven by athletes. And that's what he said to me in 2019, is these athletes need to get a bigger part of the pie.

• 12:17Speaker 04

  Yeah, no, I mean, the UFC is paying roughly like 10% of their earnings when it should be closer to 50%. That's why you see all of them wanting to go and box and, you know, cross over to the sport of boxing where the money has been bigger. And that's, you know, this merger has combined a boxing entity and an MMA entity, and now fighters can do both. We can have them do a big boxing event, or they can go and do MMA, like I'm going to do in the near future as well. So I think that's never been done before. And really, that's what fighters want. They want the flexibility to be able to do what they want and to make the money that they deserve.

• 13:01Speaker 04

  They also want the viewership. They want the credentials out there in the world. They want to be famous and known for their craft. And there hasn't been a place where MMA fighters can go and get the same amount of viewership as the UFC, if not more. And so that, I think, was the missing piece even beyond the money. And now, even with other leagues and fight organizations, I think we'll see fighters, you know, that will hopefully fight out of their contracts to be able to come into our organization and get the pay and the freedom and flexibility that they deserve.

• 13:37Ryan Clark?

  Jake, is it all about, for you, because you are a creator, because you are a fighter, how have you continued as also a co-founder and owner to keep that fighter-first mentality? Because the margins would go to you two, right? As the founders and the owners, if you wouldn't give the fighters so much. What has made you so steadfast in staying that way?

• 14:02Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's a great question, and this is what we've always said, is Nakisa is a wealthy man before we started this company. I am a wealthy man before starting this company. And we didn't need the money, we still don't need the money. And so every other person and promoter in the business, their families are fed by the revenue that they get from being a promoter. Whereas to us, it's just like slightly incremental, but we put everything back into the business. But everyone else is doing it to get rich. We got rich before we started this company, and that's really the difference.

• 14:42Speaker 00

  No doubt, we want to create enterprise value and create additional equity value for ourselves. But the belief has always been the most valuable entities on the world are the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the EPL. And the vast majority of the revenues are close to 50% goes to the athletes. So it only inures benefit to your asset to have athletes who fully believe in or happy and feel like partners. So when we talk about Jake being a fighter, of course, he's going to get paid extremely well, and he's a partner in the firm. And any athlete that comes to MVP knows that we're going to give them that opportunity, right? It's about pivot, which is a P, but it's about platform push, which results in pay.

• 15:23Speaker 00

  We have the platform, we provide the push, you put on amazing performances, the pay is there.

• 15:28Ryan Clark?

  I mean, you know, from an athletic standpoint, Jake was on the list right there with Erling Haaland. And I saw, you know, just a slight tweet, you know, just like you just put it out there, you didn't say much about it, but just showing that as an athlete, this is what he was able to produce.

• 15:43Fred Taylor?

  And also as former athletes, I can speak for the both of them. We commend you guys for, you know, trying to take care of the product, which is the athlete. And it sounds great, but companies have investors to answer to, right? And as business gets tougher, like, how do you guys, how do you guys continue to maintain that philosophy while also having to maintain business?

• 16:11Speaker 00

  I mean, I look at the WNBA, those investors, those owners have been investing for close to now over 30 years. They've lost money for a very long time. But those asset values have continued to go up. And now they're at a point where their asset values and their profits are going to go up, right? Because the league has this influx of superstars, and the world is paying attention. So our belief is the same. We're not losing money, we've never lost a dollar at MVP. But we've never made a lot of money. It's been an exercise of building a brand, building these fighters, building conviction in women's boxing, building conviction in our capabilities. So I have no doubt that we can maintain it and create a lot of equity value.

• 16:49Speaker 04

  Yeah, you know, I mean, I would say like Uber, one of the biggest companies, you know, just became profitable a couple of years ago after so many years in business, but the enterprise value is still so big. And so, yeah, just pushing and being smart. We have one of the best guys in the world to, you know, that has our back on that side of things. But just believing in the growth and the continuation of the fighters and being able to put on big events and have big rights deals with these, you know, platforms like ESPN, Sky Sports, and Netflix.

• 17:26Channing Crowder?

  As disruptors, you're disrupting something that's been going on for a long time. The 10% to the 50% and all. Any pushback, any hate from what has been happening for so long? And now y'all are coming in and changing things.

• 17:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, there's lots of, there's lots of pushback, there's lots of hate, there's lots of resistance, there's lots of behind-the-scenes moves that get made to try to hold us back or hold us down consistently. There's, you know, yeah, a lot of negativity that goes with it, name-calling, et cetera. But it's all for the good. If they're paying attention to what we're doing, that's a great thing. We did the first-ever press conference with Jake, Mike Tyson, and Ryan at Fanatics two years ago.

• 18:09Speaker 00

  Guess what, every year since then UFC's been there doing their press conferences. So, we continue to disrupt, lead the way. Others take what we've done and run with it, but we, we think it's worth the effort, worth the hate that we get for it.

• 18:23Ryan Clark?

  And also too, with I guess some of the pushback. For you, having been a part of UFC, understanding the boxing world, understanding the combat sports world. What is your end game, right? What's the, the final goal of this business?

• 18:46Speaker 00

  I, I hope it's a forever business. I, I do not have a tattoo, have never had one, but tomorrow Jake and I will be getting a most valuable tattoo together for this company, because I look at this as being something that lives long beyond myself and Jake Paul and becomes a true platform for fighters in mixed martial arts and boxing and other sports. When Jake came up with the name Most Valuable Promotions, it was his idea. It was to not make it boxing centric. It was with the idea that we could promote any athlete in any event and make it the biggest and most valuable that existed.

• 19:20Ryan Clark?

  See, I love that though, because that takes me outside of actual combat sports. Right, if you're taking any athlete in any sport and giving them an opportunity to have the viewership, the ownership, and the ability to earn. I think that makes this a totally different entity than we've ever seen from two co-founders, two partners. And with you Jake, a simple question. Why, if you make all this money, do you just keep doing things and trying to pick things that's gonna get you hurt?

• 19:52Speaker 04

  Like what, like, oh, like combat sports?

• 19:54Speaker 00

  He's talking about going to the NFL.

• 19:56Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you just said, yeah, you, you went, right, you boxed, right?

• 19:59Speaker 00

  He's still boxing, yeah.

• 20:01Speaker 04

  I mean, pain is temporary, legacy is forever, so like.

• 20:04Speaker 00

  Let's go.

• 20:08Channing Crowder?

  I saw that, I saw that x-ray. X-rays forever too.

• 20:16Speaker 04

  That shit's temporary though. Honestly, it didn't, the punch didn't even hurt.

• 20:22Ryan Clark?

  I don't believe that Jake.

• 20:24Speaker 04

  I, I swear on everything brother, like it didn't hurt at all.

• 20:27Speaker 00

  I mean, he said whoa, right?

• 20:29Speaker 04

  I, I was just like, whoa, that was like a good hit, but there's been things in life that hurt a lot worse, like when you stub your toe, bro, that shit hurts way more than getting hit by Anthony Joshua, honestly. And I enjoy it, I, I'm a fighter at heart. I'm a competitor at heart, I'm an athlete at heart. And so I think I would be pissed off at myself if, when I was 40, I looked back and was like, damn, I could have kept on fighting, that was like the most fun I've ever had. The hardest I've had to push myself physically and mentally and not just being a businessman.

• 21:08Speaker 04

  And so while I'm still in my athletic prime, there's still a lot of things I, I want to accomplish. And I set, I've only set two goals for myself in life so far. Or three goals. One is to become the, the biggest YouTuber in the world. And I, I did that, checked that off, then stopped doing YouTube, set the next goal, and that was to become world champion. And so that's, that's the, the next one on the list. And I'm, I just have to do it for myself.

• 21:42Ryan Clark?

  But you said it with three football players, right? And we like to fancy that sport as a, a skill that you must attain. And there's, there's a level of foundational athleticism that goes into being able to do it. Right, to be 29 years old, to have not stepped on a professional football field and to, I use the word audacity, right, to have the audacity to say it out loud that that's what you are going to do. What makes you so confident that you can do what we were able to do for a living?

• 22:18Speaker 04

  Yeah, I think just God, believing in myself and, you know, manifestation and self-belief are some of the most powerful things in the world. And I have God-given talents and athleticism. And when I said I was gonna box and beat all of these people and beat Ben Askew and Nate Robinson, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, it was the same response that I'm getting now when I say I'm gonna go.

• 22:45Speaker 00

  Because you didn't have the background.

• 22:46Speaker 04

  Play slot receiver, because there was no background. I was YouTuber this, YouTuber that. But I, I benched more than all of you guaranteed. And that's just like right now. And I don't even practice bench pressing. I'll squat more than all of you, I'm faster than all of you, like actually.

• 23:02Ryan Clark?

  That's not true.

• 23:03Speaker 04

  We, it is true, we can, we can go down in the street after this. But that, that's the thing, so like, when it, when, words are cheap, you know? And, and the actions are actually more powerful. And so I'm a doer and, and a talker at the same time, but I always back it up. And so, to me, slot receiver, I have hands, run some routes, catch some balls, block some people, it can't be that hard. Boxing is way more difficult than football.

• 23:32Ryan Clark?

  That's also not true.

• 23:33Speaker 00

  It's 100% true. Again, study was released like a month ago, the hardest sport in the world is boxing. Number 11 was MMA.

• 23:41Speaker 04

  They, they took 90, you know, professional analysts of sports and did a study on what the hardest sports in the world are. And the number one on there is boxing. And I'm in there by myself. You guys have 10 other players on the field to, to help you out. And so the, the mentality is different, the pressure is different, the focus is different. And the training is harder, it's a marathon and a sprint. You guys get a minute in between each play to regroup. You fucking kidding? You guys get like.

• 24:16Ryan Clark?

  This is like a, this is like a.

• 24:17Speaker 00

  This is like a boring conversation. Boxing is number one. Ice hockey's number two, football is number three.

• 24:23Channing Crowder?

  No, the hardest thing in sports is to hit a baseball going 100 miles per hour.

• 24:27Ryan Clark?

  I agree with that totally.

• 24:28Channing Crowder?

  That's, that's the hardest thing to ever do in a sport.

• 24:31Speaker 00

  That, that's a hard action within a sport, but the overall sport difficulty.

• 24:35Ryan Clark?

  So I would say this, the, the individuality of boxing and even mixed martial arts makes it difficult. Right, if you get hurt in the ring or in octagon or in the cage, you don't get to come out, right? If, if Channing gets hurt, another linebacker gets to play. Bud, we've had that conversation. You know Jake, when Bud sits there and tells me that, then I'm like, yeah, but you're Bud Crawford. I get it. But to just be like, I'm gonna run a couple of routes, I'm gonna block some people, I'm gonna catch the ball, how hard can it be?

• 25:06Channing Crowder?

  But we talking about.

• 25:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, but is it harder than that? Like what's the difference, like it's just a speed thing.

• 25:13Channing Crowder?

  Jake, we talking about Jamar Chase and Jeddah and those type guys. We're talking about the best receivers in the world that you're trying to compete with.

• 25:21Speaker 04

  That's, that's an outside receiver, like not a slot receiver, completely different.

• 25:26Ryan Clark?

  They play it all. You, you sat around and watched Wes Welker play and you like, oh shoot, I can go do that.

• 25:32Speaker 04

  Yeah, 100%.

• 25:34Speaker 04

  No, definitely.

• 25:34Channing Crowder?

  You can do what Wes Welker can do.

• 25:36Speaker 04

  Yes, he's the perfect example. I, I could not do Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, those are different level athletes than me. I'm talking about the white guy Wes Welker, who is this big, what's he gonna do? Bro.

• 25:50Speaker 00

  Bro, you underestimated him.

• 25:51Speaker 04

  What do you mean, bro?

• 25:52Channing Crowder?

  Edelman, you got Edelman. That's the white guy, that's the next Wes Welker.

• 25:56Speaker 04

  100, bro, I would, Wes Welker is even like 10 times better than Julian.

• 26:02Channing Crowder?

  And you can, and you can do that at that level.

• 26:04Speaker 04

  Yeah, 100%. You, uh, Julian Edelman?

• 26:08Ryan Clark?

  Julian Edelman's an absolute monster.

• 26:09Speaker 04

  Yeah, but I'm saying Wes Welker's better.

• 26:12Fred Taylor?

  I can't let you say that about Ju.

• 26:14Speaker 04

  Like, who's the other kid? Juju Smith, Juju Smith-Schuster, he's like a, he's a slot receiver.

• 26:20Ryan Clark?

  He's played, he's played the slot receiver, but Juju Smith-Schuster was a 1,500 yard receiver in the league in Pittsburgh. You can't go do that. Now, if you're just saying, I could just get on the field somewhere in the NFL, maybe. But I think you're truly discounting how talented these people are at doing that one thing.

• 26:40Speaker 04

  I'm not saying that they're not, I'm just saying that it's not as hard as people are making it out to be.

• 26:45Fred Taylor?

  That's why you're, that's why, that's why you, that's why you are where you are. Just that, that mindset.

• 26:53Speaker 04

  No, 100%.

• 26:53Fred Taylor?

  You don't let nobody tell you can't do anything.

• 26:55Speaker 00

  He has unshakable belief.

• 26:56Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, and, and that's why.

• 26:57Speaker 00

  It's delusion of confidence we call it.

• 26:58Fred Taylor?

  This merger and your companies and everything, everything you touch is gonna succeed just because of that mindset.

• 27:05Speaker 04

  Here's the thing, I'm, I'm ready to go in there and if, if I'm proven wrong, then so be it. But people are too scared to fail and like go try and talk their shit and have that confidence to be like, I'm gonna create the biggest company in the world, I'm gonna go and do this, I'm gonna play here, I'm gonna do all of these great things. They're scared to fail and to, to talk that shit and to, to big up themselves. If I go in there and, and I'm a bum, that, guess what, who cares? Not, now what, what, what are we gonna do?

• 27:40Speaker 00

  You created a company called W, which stands for winning, but what's in that logo?

• 27:44Speaker 04

  Yeah, there's, I have a hidden L in the logo, because I just turned all my losses into W's. So, that's, that's really what it's about. And there is a side of it where it's like, I am purposely a little egging you guys on and get you a little hype though.

• 28:00Ryan Clark?

  Well, honestly.

• 28:03Speaker 04

  There's a little bit in there, you know?

• 28:05Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you guys won this week for sure. The merger with the PFL CEO, John Martin is here, and I definitely want to get some of his thoughts on where this can take the company.

• 28:20Speaker 06

  I have no aspiration to be in the NFL.

• 28:23Ryan Clark?

  Well, John, I'm actually happy to have you here. I mean, I got to meet you recently in Pittsburgh. An exciting event was thrown there by the PFL just to be a part of it. So I appreciate the hospitality, first off.

• 28:34Speaker 06

  We appreciated your involvement.

• 28:35Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, and you guys, you know, taking care of me the way you did. Brett Keisel loved it.

• 28:39Speaker 06

  Amazing.

• 28:39Ryan Clark?

  He absolutely loved it. And so, my question for you would be, I think it was 2008, you had conversations with the UFC.

• 28:47Speaker 00

  It was the first time.

• 28:48Ryan Clark?

  2008, right? 2016, you have another conversation.

• 28:52Speaker 06

  When he was there.

• 28:52Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 28:53Speaker 06

  When Niklas was there.

• 28:53Ryan Clark?

  Actually, you have another conversation. How much of that, those different conversations and understanding what the next piece to mixed martial arts could be, went into the decision to partner with MVP?

• 29:07Speaker 06

  A big part of it, so my background coming from media and entertainment is I've always been leading companies that were big and had a lot of scale, and I benefited from that. And we took and we grew those companies even more. When I started to follow the UFC as a fan, and then ultimately I got involved in martial arts myself, I immediately saw the, honestly, the global possibilities of growing mixed martial arts as a combat sport. I was always a boxing fan as a kid. Some of my fondest memories were watching Muhammad Ali fight, and then Hearns and Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard. I mean, up through Del Hoya, Mayweather, and following. Then MMA was something different, right? Because the only thing where you actually, the fight never ends.

• 29:51Speaker 06

  You go to the ground, there's no rescue, right? I tried to convince my company, Time Warner, twice, to acquire the UFC. First was in 2008, when Dana wanted to partner with HBO, who is big in boxing. And then the second time, again, my second unsuccessful attempt, was I thought Time Warner should acquire UFC in 2016. Unfortunately, the company got sold shortly thereafter.

• 30:12Ryan Clark?

  You were right, though.

• 30:13Speaker 06

  I was right in both of those.

• 30:14Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 30:14Speaker 06

  I mean, the UFC was worth, Niklas, 4 billion in 16. And I told my board at Time Warner, I said, "This is going to be worth four to five times that amount in seven years." And pretty much right on the, right on. So, I never lost the passion. I was frustrated that I never got involved with the UFC. When I had the opportunity to get involved in PFL, I jumped on it because I thought the fighters that we have at the PFL, they're better than most fans recognize. So if we could shine a spotlight on that, and we can improve the production, and we can elevate the brand, we got a real shot, because no way is the UFC going to be a monopoly in MMA. And we started, and I've been there a little less than a year, and things have been turning around,

• 30:59Speaker 06

  and there's a lot of positive signs and momentum, but why try to grind it out and grow organically, bit by bit? I've been watching what Jake and Niklas have been doing at MVP with a little jealousy, but a lot of attention.

• 31:13Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 31:14Speaker 06

  And then I had even, you know, Niklas reached out to me first, but he was on my mind. I was going to wait until their May 16 event. I was actually, and I mean it, I was hoping it was going to succeed, because I saw it as being good for the sport. Got a lot of casual fans watching it that ordinarily wouldn't. And I said, "This gentleman has an ability to capture casual fans, bring them into the sport like nobody I've ever seen." That's a unique opportunity for a company like ours. So, first conversation with Niklas, we didn't have one disagreement on strategy, fit, what makes sense, our ambition, what we're trying to do. And I couldn't be more excited. I think this is going to be great, as they've all said. I mean, it's going to be great for the fans, it's going to be great for the fighters.

• 31:58Speaker 06

  And there's a big competition for UFC and boxing right now.

• 32:03Ryan Clark?

  After doing the MMA event, it was obviously difficult to sort of get the matches the way you want it, right? MMA is all about matchmaking, right? It's the one combat sport, in my opinion, or the top combat sport, and you can have an entire card of exciting fights, and people may not know the names of the guys or the females on the undercard. But you do that, and the fights are uneven, right? Obviously, Francis gets the knockout, Rhonda gets the submission, Mike Perry beats Diaz. So all those things happen. How much of...

• 32:40Speaker 00

  Well, Ryan, when you say they're uneven, they had an event at the White House shortly thereafter.

• 32:44Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 32:45Speaker 00

  Almost every fight was like a quick finish.

• 32:47Ryan Clark?

  It was a complete card of finishes.

• 32:49Speaker 00

  Nobody said those were uneven matches, right? So, "Oh, these were great, these were fair matchups." So, part of it was people just wanted to downplay what we did. It was very possible Rhonda Rousey was going to finish Gina Carano the way that she did, because that's what she did her entire career.

• 33:03Ryan Clark?

  Agreed.

• 33:03Speaker 00

  Until she got stopped. But it was also very possible that Gina Carano could have put a roundhouse kick onto Rhonda's head, like Holly Holm did, and gone a different way. So I don't, yes, did we have Francis Ngano fighting the number two guy in the world at this moment? No, but the matchmaking was not that different than many cards that you see. But sorry to interrupt.

• 33:22Ryan Clark?

  Nah, you're good, nah, you say whatever. Like, this is your space. But my question was going to be, how excited are you understanding the type of fighters that are in the PFL already, and the elite level fighters you can now shine a spotlight on, that may not have been getting that, that allows some of those great fights, great names, great matches for you guys?

• 33:45Speaker 00

  I mean, look, this is the cheat code to becoming the reference brand for the sport. Jake and I have built what we've done at MVP on the women's side, right? And we're the reference brand there. Now we have a roster of almost 400 top-level athletes, some of the best in the world, that have become a part of this platform. And that infrastructure, that global distribution, led by who I believe is the best CEO in combat sports, the most experienced, the most accomplished, the man who understands media better than anyone else around the table, the possibilities are endless.

• 34:16Fred Taylor?

  What's the biggest challenge, John, for people who aren't inside the room? Like, it comes with some level of risk, I'm sure. So for the people that aren't in the room, that can't really see what that might be, what would you consider the biggest challenge?

• 34:32Speaker 06

  There are risks, for sure. I think this merger dramatically reduces the risk on the PFL side, and I think it reduces the risk on the MVP side. And that together, I can't wait to now that the deal is signed. We're going to get together, and we're going to talk about events. What can we do? Boxing, MMA, crossover events, giving fighters more and more opportunity. We've got to get and secure a strong distribution partner in the US. That was what I was busy doing at the PFL, and I look forward to doing that now with this announcement behind us. I think we have, we're going to have a compelling product to offer fans.

• 35:17Speaker 06

  And I really think the biggest risk is we just have to execute. Got to put our head down. I mean, getting to this point is exciting, now the hard work starts. You know, whenever I'm in a business or I'm in a negotiation, I like to have as many cards in my hand as possible, because you like to be able to have flexibility to which one you want to play. We have more cards in our deck right now than we've ever had before. And that's really exciting.

• 35:36Speaker 00

  It all comes down to one thing, eyeballs, attention, engagement, right? It's a battle to get people to focus for a period of time. There's no better person in the world to bring eyeballs and attention to what we're doing. That's why we've had the success at MVP, and that's why with MVP and PFL, we're going to continue to garner that attention and those eyeballs, to bring exposure to our athletes, to then necessitate the right deals with media partners. That's what's exciting about this. But at the end of the day, the risk is not getting the eyeballs, not getting the attention. But we feel pretty good about that.

• 36:11Channing Crowder?

  Two very smart, obviously rich people. And the richest person here. And he's a rich dude, but this is the engine, correct?

• 36:23Speaker 06

  That was really exciting for us to be able to partner with somebody. There is no other Jake. Maybe your brother is the closest thing to it.

• 36:30Channing Crowder?

  But is that scary?

• 36:32Speaker 06

  Scary? Why? It's exciting.

• 36:34Channing Crowder?

  It's, what's it called? There's an insurance called like frontman insurance on companies.

• 36:38Speaker 06

  Key man, key man.

• 36:39Channing Crowder?

  Key man. This is the key man of y'all's millions.

• 36:43Speaker 00

  I would say...

• 36:44Channing Crowder?

  He's sitting here right next to you.

• 36:45Speaker 00

  I would say this platform gives him more...

• 36:49Speaker 00

  Assets to push, but also diversifies the platform from just him pushing, right? We have over 400 fighters now on the roster. We get the benefit of John Martin as the CEO. We get the benefit of our partnerships with Netflix and ESPN and Sky and 43 other partners globally. And yes, he is front and center as a fighter. He is front and center as a promoter, biggest promoter, bigger than Dana, bigger than Eddie, bigger than any promoter that exists in terms of reach. But it's also a benefit to him because now it's not just him. There is an entire roster of athletes. There is entire platform and there is deep-pocketed investors behind us that are going to help us build and push.

• 37:30Fred Taylor?

  And Jake, did it put, I wanted to put more pressure on you now when you see.

• 37:34Speaker 04

  No, I think it's the opposite, like Nikita said. Now I have more infrastructure, more of a team, more capital behind me and more fighters that can be potential superstars to put a lot of that energy into where they become a brand in and of itself. And we've done that multiple times in MVP. But now there's just going to be more events, more fights and more opportunities for these fighters to make a name for themselves and to the, everyone grows together. Every fighter that we push, every event that we do, the whole organization just slowly continues to grow.

• 38:15Speaker 04

  And it's a self-sustaining ecosystem, whereas before a lot of it was just on my shoulders. And I think people like Elon Musk inspire me because you could say the same thing about like, well, SpaceX isn't going to work, Elon, boring company, Tesla, it's all Elon, it's all Elon, it's all, yeah. But they, they figure it out and that's, that's what motivates me. And that's why I have chips on my shoulders to prove and to make these companies become super successful, everything that I'm, I'm involved in. Because a lot of people look at me and say, oh, you can't do that. Like, how's he going to do that? That's crazy. And time and time again, I continue to prove myself and see the future before others can't, right?

• 38:58Speaker 04

  Like you were five years ago being like YouTuber, this, that, and now, now you're like, I understand it now. And, and it's cute, it's cute. I like have to sometimes like lower my threshold to like a level of human that doesn't understand what it is that I'm doing and creating. And I'm patient for them to catch up when 10 years down the line, they're like, holy cow, how did that happen? That's, that's really what we're going to continue to, to prove here and, and to do and to make all of this become a massive success.

• 39:31Ryan Clark?

  I want to speak to delusional confidence again. I read something from John and the quote was, the PFL is not that other organization, right? When, when you make a merger like this, the immediate thought is this is to compete with the UFC. How do you find a way to not be seen as the other organization? Or even more so, the number two organization? Because the UFC is king. They are destination viewing, they are people's habits. How do you find a way to combat that?

• 40:10Speaker 04

  Yeah, I would, I would say like, just naturally, it's already happened in such a short amount of time. And just with the matchmaking that we've done, the partnerships, the events that we've thrown, people already put us on the same level. It's like, what was better, the UFC White House card or, or the Netflix Ronda Rousey card? And they're automatically comparing us. And so it naturally becomes this Pepsi and Coke situation. It becomes Nike and Adidas already and we're five years in. And so really it's all benefit to us. They're way up here, been doing it for 30 something years.

• 40:50Speaker 04

  We're just starting and every conversation that people have about us, it pulls us up closer to that. You know, they're probably a $20 billion organization now. And so for us, yeah, let's, let's be seen as number two and compare us all you want and talk about us and put us on the same level because we're punching up and they're, it just brings us up and closer to them. But they're definitely the kingmaker and the biggest in terms of like money. But what we'll be number one at always is how we treat fighters. I think that alone will propel us so far into the future and to really make us the differentiator

• 41:32Speaker 04

  and why you'll see all the talent come to us in the end.

• 41:36Speaker 00

  And I think if you look at soccer, for example, there are successful leagues in many countries around the world, but there's consistent product. So UFC isn't the global MMA organization that has to feed every single consumer on every single night. And there's only so many weekends that you can do fights as that single organization. So I think the market is more than big enough to allow us to be successful. And I think as Jake said, like, if we're the clear number two and it's a one-two race, that's a great place to be actually, right? I, I do not mind being Pepsi if they are Coke. We'll be, we'll be okay as Pepsi.

• 42:12Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, I like the whole entire idea of, of taking care of your employees. I think that goes a long ways, which brings me to this. We got this thing we do on the show where we cut the room in half. And for the first time in Pivot history, RC, you know I love you, Disney fired two people on this set.

• 42:37Speaker 04

  Hey, that's what's up, bro. Hey, dap me up, bro.

• 42:40Speaker 07

  You got the connection for him.

• 42:41Speaker 04

  That's what's up, bro. Hell, yeah.

• 42:44Speaker 00

  Disclaimer, both PFL and MVP are partners with ESPN.

• 42:47Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, no offense to ESPN, still a great company, to great people. But almost your 10-year anniversary of being Dirk Man and being fired as well.

• 43:00Fred Taylor?

  So, but, but, but I'm just going back to the conversation. He's talking about that delusional mindset and then you was talking about failure, not letting it, you know, keep you trapped or hold you down. Would you consider that move your most valuable pivot? Because we always ask our guests, what's their biggest pivot in life? Would that be your most valuable pivot?

• 43:21Speaker 04

  I would say the most valuable was like going from YouTube to boxing. But yeah, like the, the whole Disney thing just wasn't fitting well. Like they needed me to be there six days a week, 10 hours a day. And my YouTube vlogs were just taking off like crazy, getting 10, 15 million views per day. And so I was way more focused on that than, you know, sitting around a, a set and being wait, you know, waiting for three, four hours to say a couple of lines. And so there was this natural growing apart.

• 44:02Speaker 04

  My videos were becoming more, you know, PG 13 rated R-ish. And so they were this clean brand. And that's like naturally where the separation, I was like, I'm going to focus on this. And so, yeah, it was just what was, what was coming. And they, they were like, you need to stop swearing, you need to stop doing this. You can't say this in your videos. And I was just like, I, I can't do that. And so really it just, you know, it was, it was a blessing and a great accomplishment. And I loved working there and all the people were great and everything was, you know, top notch. And it was a great experience, but naturally me and Disney just grew apart.

• 44:47Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, and I think RC also mentioned that we shared enough tears last weekend, went through the whole ordeal. And knowing this guy and his next pivot and, and what's next to come, just check out for it. But, uh,

• 45:02Ryan Clark?

  We'll be good. What it ain't gonna be is fighting, Fred.

• 45:04Fred Taylor?

  Huh?

• 45:04Ryan Clark?

  What it ain't gonna be, I ain't gonna be calling Nikita like, hey, man, let me get, hey, that's what's not gonna happen.

• 45:09Speaker 07

  You never know, you've been working out like crazy.

• 45:11Speaker 04

  But if you are down, we, we can negotiate a deal.

• 45:15Speaker 07

  To make your boxing or MMA debut.

• 45:18Speaker 04

  You, you versus Pat McAfee.

• 45:20Ryan Clark?

  No, that's not gonna happen. Pat's my guy. But I got a couple I can pull on the list, we'll have a conversation about that. I do want to ask you this question though, John. Like your innovation in a very short time has been fascinating, right? Everyone who is connected to mixed martial arts understands the way the PFL used to crown the champion.

• 45:41Ryan Clark?

  That was a quick change for you. And now you're partnering with MVP. That's another immediate, quick change after taking over as the CEO. Do you ever walk in the room and say, guys, here's my thought? And they'd be like, man, you out your mother effing mind. Right? Like, what is, what, what does your team say with all of these, not only big ideas, but big decisions that you made? None bigger than partnering with Nakisa and Jake?

• 46:09Speaker 06

  Yeah, well, I'm fortunate. We've got a number of really talented people on our team. And yeah, I might come in with the ideas, but I like to hear everybody's opinion. And then I'm happy to make the decision and be held accountable for it. But, look, I knew coming in, PFL had a big opportunity. But if we continued to just stay the course that it was on, it wasn't going to work. So if you really believe that, then you change it as quick as you can. Because every day you're stuck in that, you're just falling further and further behind. And I knew that that was the necessary first step. You know, get rid of a tournament format that didn't work. Start to appeal to more and more fans. Establish, you know, the tried and true method of weight classes with rankings and champions. And all of a sudden, matchmaking became important.

• 46:53Speaker 06

  And the fan base started talking about, by the way, good, bad, and different. Why is this person fighting this person? Who's better? Who's better? But we started to become more and more part of the conversation. And my goal from the first day I walked in is I want to be big. I want to scale. Because combat sports is one of the few sports in the world that is global. There's no borders. It's instantly recognizable. It's simple. You don't need a lot of equipment. Any kid could, could join and, and become a martial artist or a combat sports enthusiast. That's a unique opportunity. And so, no time like the present. And I, I like to seize the opportunities in front of me. And I'm just, I'm thrilled that these two gentlemen thought and saw the same thing.

• 47:32Ryan Clark?

  I love that.

• 47:33Channing Crowder?

  You were talking about the, the timeliness of MVP and FPL. What's your, what's your end game? What's your, what's your finish line? Do you have, you have a number involved? You do so much, bro. Like you said, you made fun of me because I didn't believe in you five years ago. Now I see the future. Like, but what, so now you've been running for five years and even Neanderthals like me can see. Bro, you got, you have to have a finish line. If you got a finish line, what the hell are you running for?

• 48:03Speaker 04

  No, I think it's, uh, becoming like a protector of fighters and getting them what they deserved in the spotlight that, that they deserve. I think the biggest accomplishment in my life, or one of them, is, is what, being involved in Amanda Serrano's career and taking her from where she was at.

• 48:25Speaker 00

  12 years in the sport, seven division champion. No recognition.

• 48:28Speaker 04

  And I said to her, I was like, I was like, I'm going to make you a millionaire and you're going to be on billboards. And I said, you're going to be in a movie one day. And she literally like laughed at me because she like couldn't fathom that. And that's like exactly what's happened, um, in, in a shorter amount of time than we expected. And I want to be a protector of fighters. I think also creating a league where there's financial literacy taught. It's something that I want to bring into this organization. So you don't see fighters who, you know, make this money and, uh, blow it. I think that's something that's not even done.

• 49:04Speaker 00

  Fighters, athletes.

• 49:05Speaker 04

  And in the UFC, you know, there's no financial literacy where, as in the NFL and NBA and some of these other leagues, uh, the players are getting smarter about their money. And so, really just being this overall protector of fighters and helping them make money, keep the money, and so you don't see Floyd situations happening. And giving them the, the biggest paydays and, and opportunities to me is what is the most exciting, so.

• 49:35Ryan Clark?

  What are you most proud of? Are you more proud of the fact that you have gotten inside the ring with world champions and done battle? Or are you more proud of the fact that you are a protector of fighters?

• 49:52Speaker 04

  I'm way more proud of what I've done outside the ring. Cause there's been and will be, uh, 10,000 more fighters, you know, in the future. But there's not anyone in the promotional game who's been able to do what we've done and in such a short amount of time and at my age. And also being someone in the ring. De La Hoya has done a great job, but you just missed that, that momentum and the time to turn it into something even bigger than, uh, what, what he's already created. And so.

• 50:31Speaker 00

  And he did that post-career. Jake's doing it during his career.

• 50:34Speaker 04

  Yeah, just way more proud of what I've done outside the ring.

• 50:37Ryan Clark?

  Got you. So my last question for you would, would be this, John. You know, you mentioned that Nakisa reached out and you were like, I was waiting, I was waiting for that May 16th event. Tell me what that conversation was initially and what excited you about what he had to say?

• 50:58Speaker 06

  I was on the Ariel Hawani podcast and Ariel asked me if we would ever consider a rebrand at the PFL. And at the time, we were, we were, we were questioning ourselves whether that was the best brand and whether a fresh start would be better. I tell the truth when I'm being asked a question. So I said, we're thinking about it. And, and it caused immediate speculation. What's it going to be? You going to bring back the Bellator name? Are you going to? And I came out of the show and one of the first texts I saw was from Nakisa where he said, there's a much bigger idea here. And so.

• 51:30Speaker 00

  Well, he was very complimentary of us on the show. And I sent a text and I said, I heard, I saw the show. Thank you for the compliments. See you're thinking about a rebrand, maybe Bellator. I said, there's a bigger opportunity here. Call me if you're interested. And he called pretty quickly.

• 51:46Ryan Clark?

  What was your first statement to him on that call?

• 51:50Speaker 00

  Just that, you know, what we've been able to achieve at MVP is phenomenal, but what we're lacking is what PFL has, which is the roster in terms of MMA, the roster, the infrastructure, uh, the global distribution capabilities that they've invested in for the past seven or eight years, right? Tens of millions of dollars have been invested to build what they have in place. And I also said to John, I want to combine these two things and I want you to be the CEO. I believe you're the right person to lead this organization, given your background at Time Warner, given your leadership at Turner. Combat Sports hasn't seen an executive like you. Jake and I will support. Jake and I will lead and drive different components, but you have to be in the chair.

• 52:31Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you know, I want to give this last opportunity to you, John. What can viewers, what can fans of mixed martial arts expect from the PFL now as you go forward with this merger with MVP?

• 52:48Speaker 06

  Much bigger spotlight on our, on our elite fighters. And, you know, we have an event in Long Island. We've got Usman Nurmagomedov, Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin, 21 and 0. I think he might, I think he is the best lightweight in the world, bar none. We've got Dakota Dittrva as the co-main, 15 and 0. She's the most.

• 53:07Channing Crowder?

  Superstar in the making.

• 53:08Speaker 06

  She's the most in-demand female fighter in the world. They deserve to be known by everybody in the world. And they're very popular in the MMA world, don't get me wrong. But to shine an even bigger spotlight, make them household names, make them stars, tell better stories about their lives, why, how they got to where they are, why, what drives them to continue to fight. But one of the things, one of the fascinating things for me, having come into the business now and gotten the opportunity to actually get to know our fighters, they're fascinating elite athletes. Everybody comes from a different walk of life. They have a different story, a different motivation, a different drive, but they all doing the same thing. And I think telling those stories, it's always what made me get connected to combat sports. I was always athletic.

• 53:53Speaker 06

  I played soccer until I was 25 years old, but there's something.

• 53:57Speaker 00

  Ken is going to go to the NFL soon.

• 53:58Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 53:58Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 53:59Speaker 06

  That's not going to happen.

• 54:00Ryan Clark?

  If he said it too, then I'm done.

• 54:01Channing Crowder?

  He is slot receiver too. Everybody's a slot receiver.

• 54:05Ryan Clark?

  He's playing quarterback, man. Quarterback.

• 54:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, he's playing quarterback.

• 54:10Ryan Clark?

  He's Tyreek Hill now.

• 54:12Channing Crowder?

  Everybody's a slot receiver.

• 54:14Speaker 06

  No, no, no. It's just, you know what? I want people who like the MMA industry to turn around and go, now we get a lot of chatter about where do these PFL fighters, when are they going to make it to the UFC? That's bullshit. Our guys are as good as the UFC fighters and they deserve that recognition.

• 54:32Ryan Clark?

  I think that is the perfect statement to end it on. That is what it's always felt like, right? As you get as good as you can possibly get in another organization and then you get scooped up by the UFC to truly become a star with what you guys have done in such a short period of time with your innovative, creative mindset and leadership. I think that's exactly where you can take it. I mean, you know me, I'll be cage side to watch.

• 55:01Speaker 06

  We expect that. We're forward to it.

• 55:02Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I know it'll be exciting. But man, we appreciate your guys' time, man, and best of luck. Oh, yes. Oh, Lord.

• 55:07Channing Crowder?

  I gotta ask, because I did it to KD as well. You have an athlete fiance, right?

• 55:13Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 55:14Channing Crowder?

  She's a speed skater.

• 55:15Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 55:16Channing Crowder?

  So you're an athlete, she's an athlete. You gotta make babies.

• 55:19Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 55:20Channing Crowder?

  When are you planning on making babies? You can't, you can't, you gotta hold this DNA now. We gotta let this DNA go.

• 55:27Speaker 04

  No, 100%. That's what Trump said to me, uh, backstage after the rally. He was like, I need one of your babies. I'm taking the first baby. You guys have great genetics, so. Uh, there's a line, there's a line.

• 55:41Channing Crowder?

  So you know how to make a baby? Because I got three. I can text you.

• 55:43Speaker 04

  I don't know how.

• 55:44Channing Crowder?

  I can text you, don't worry about it.

• 55:46Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Chad, hey Chad, when you got as much money as he got, you ain't trying to make no babies before you get married. Hey, that child support would be steep.

• 55:55Channing Crowder?

  Two rounds. You gotta go two rounds. That makes babies.

• 55:58Speaker 04

  Is that how you do it?

• 55:59Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, yeah. You got two in you?

• 56:01Speaker 04

  Yeah, yeah.

• 56:03Channing Crowder?

  Damn it.

• 56:03Speaker 04

  I'm going to do it, man. Thank you.

• 56:06Ryan Clark?

  Now that's a fit off the football.

• 56:08Speaker 06

  My man appreciate you, man.

• 56:09Channing Crowder?

  That was awesome, bro. Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.

• 56:12Speaker 06

  Appreciate you.

• 56:13Speaker 00

  Thank you, man.

• 56:14Channing Crowder?

  Good luck, man. Good to see you.

• 56:16Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 56:16Channing Crowder?

  Yes, sir, bro.

• 56:18Speaker 06

  I appreciate you.

• 56:20Channing Crowder?

  Appreciate you.

• 56:21Speaker 00

  Thank you, man.

• 56:23Speaker 04

  All right, brother. That was a good thank you.

• 56:24Speaker 06

  Thank you, brother.

• 56:25Channing Crowder?

  100%.