Jake Paul's co-promoter 'felt bad for Conor' McGregor after UFC's news drop: 'Give him a big announcement ... do something'
"It made no sense to me," said MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian of Dana White's "Instagram live with AirPods" reveal of MMA's biggest superstar returning.
Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) stole the combat sports spotlight this past Saturday with its debut MMA event on Netflix . In an apparent effort to redirect eyeballs, UFC announced Conor McGregor’s return fight midway through the MVP main card. UFC had its own event going toe-to-toe with MVP, hosting UFC Vegas 117 in the Meta Apex.
That didn’t prevent UFC CEO Dana White from keeping an eye on Netflix though, as White began streaming live on Instagram to announce McGregor’s fight as soon as former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou began his walkout . McGregor is now set to return at UFC 329 to rematch an old foe, Max Holloway, for the Irishman’s first fight since July 2021. Speaking Wednesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian questioned whether the announcement had its intended effect.
"I view it as confusing,” Bidarian told Uncrowned. “Why would you do that during what is clearly a massive event in sports? Not just in MMA, but in sports.
What is the objective? Was it because you didn’t want people to really pay attention to Conor McGregor coming back? Was there some criticism you were expecting because the opponent [Holloway] fights at 145 or 155 [pounds], and Conor’s walking around at 185?