Meet Nakisa Bidarian: Former Partners to UFC’s Ex Owners and Jake Paul’s Manager (2024)

Love or hate him, you can’t deny the fact that Jake Paul has solidified his place as a prominent figure in the boxing world. However, the Ohio native’s meteoric rise in boxing has been fueled by his manager, Nakisa Bidarian. You must have seen him on stage with Paul during weigh-ins and press conferences. Despite Bidarian staying out of the spotlight and letting Paul take center stage, the former has strong experience in the media industry. What’s the big deal with Paul’s manager? He is more than simply his manager, though.

In addition to serving as his manager and advisor, Bidarian and Paul are co-owners of Most Valuable Promotions. Bidarian has received an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a B.A. from the University of Waterloo. Do you recall Mike Tyson’s battle with Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020? Bidarian was an executive producer of Triller earlier, the company that presented the big fight event. Interestingly, he was also a part of the UFC before, which helped him run Most Valuable Promotions with Paul.

Who is Nakisa Bidarian? What is his connection with the UFC and Dana White?

Paul’s manager has previously worked for various enterprises as an investor, advisor, and strategic and financial consultant. It includes positions at companies like Accenture, City, and Morgan Stanley. He even founded a sports media, and talent advisory firm, BAVAFA Sports. But how did he join the UFC? Apparently, former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and Bidarian co-founded Fertitta Capital, where he also served as a CEO. Given his relationship with the Fertitta brothers, he got an offer to work for the UFC.

While describing how he joined the UFC, Bidarian stated, “My eventual path to UFC was not one that was calculated. But more based on a relationship that I had built with the previous owners of UFC: Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.”

He worked as a Chief Strategy Officer and CFO at UFC and has been with the company from 2011 to 2016. That is the time when he met UFC president Dana White. Even though White and Bidarian have worked closely before, their relationship does not seem to be on good terms as of now.

Nakisa Bidarian about his relationship with Dana White

‘The Problem Child’ has verbally attacked UFC President Dana White for not providing fighters with health insurance and for less fighter pay. Even White criticized Paul during press conferences and said that Paul’s fights were rigged. Following that, the two are often seen mocking each other. In the midst of this, White has also said things to Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian. He even called him an “accountant” and a “warlock”.

Let’s look at what the Bidarian has to say about White. The BAVAFA Sports founder mentioned on The MMA Hour, “Look, I respect Dana for the impact he’s had on fight sports. Right? And you have to commend his ability to control the narrative at UFC and with the fighters.”

Bidarian further stated, “I would say Dana, and I had an up-and-down relationship, which I don’t think is different to a lot of the relationships he had with executives at UFC during that period of time. I’ve always been outspoken in my beliefs and not afraid to present what we think is the right path forward strategically to do things.”

Paul’s business partner also stated that Dana White was a proponent of his UFC exit for various reasons. However, he also added that he had an amicable relationship with White, most of the time he was there.

Nakisa Bidarian and Dana White go back and forth in a verbal battle

White’s beef with Bidarian got intense when Paul’s fight with Hasim Rahman Jr. was canceled. The two were slated to fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 6th, 2022. According to Paul’s team, the bout was canceled because of a weight issue with Rahman Jr. At a UFC press conference, White stated that it is regrettable that the matchup didn’t go as planned because both fighters worked really hard and put in a lot of money for training.

However, White blamed it on Bidarian by mentioning, “Just because you were an accountant here doesn’t mean you know what the f*** goes on here. It doesn’t mean you can run a fight promotion company.” The UFC president continued by saying that Paul needs to surround himself with different people who “really know how to put on fights.” He believes the fight was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales.

Addressing White’s remarks, Bidarian revealed on Instagram, “Had zero to do with ticket sales. We already sold more tickets, more gate than Ryan Garcia just did at Staples Center. We were going to be top-10 in gates since 2005 at MSG.”

In addition, the UFC president had claimed to bet $1 million that Paul would lose his bout against former UFC fighter Ben Askeren. But the Ohio native ended up winning. Furthermore, White said the battle was fixed after Paul defeated Tyron Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion. In an attempt to get back at Dana White, Bidarian concluded, “They can try and change the narrative. They can try to destroy what this young man has done. I’m proud of him. He’s his own boss. He’s his own promoter, and I’m just an accountant.”

The YouTuber turned boxer is also eyeing to fight in the UFC after his November 15th clash against boxing great Mike Tyson. Do you think that it would be possible for him to join hands with the UFC? Also, what do you think about White’s claims about Bidarian? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.