Like everyone else, we watched the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven fight… but we came away with a bunch of positives rather than negatives.
The UFC wanted Rico Verhoeven but for a much lower price than Turki Alalshikh paid for the famous GLORY kickboxer to fight at the Pyramids in Egypt. With Verhoeven’s outstanding showing against the lineal boxing heavyweight champion, he now has several boxing and MMA opportunities in 2026 and 2027 should he choose to pursue them. Like a major fight against the lineal Heavyweight MMA champion, Francis Ngannou.
This week’s edition of The MMA Draw podcast is all about non-UFC options opening up in the combat sports landscape. It’s not about competing with UFC — it’s about grabbing a % of the market share without copying the Donn Davis PFL playbook. It’s about snatching the easy money that Mark Shapiro and TKO management is leaving on the table. There is money to be made. It requires some creativity. Avoid overthinking and laziness and there’s room to grab some cash.
MVP’s entry into MMA on Netflix plus the return of Scott Coker means that the PFL has some assets that could prove to be valuable to a non-UFC entity. Who wants to make a deal first?
Our podcast reviews the current state of affairs. Is Scott Coker simply collecting another paycheck like his industry detractors on Twitter claim? Is there room for a tournament format in 2027? Can RIZIN grow American market share with a co-promotional venture with Scott Coker?
For our paid subscribers, we have a list of six dos — and don’ts — that all new boxing and MMA promoters should pay close attention to. We’re not rocket scientists at fight promotion but we do observe clear mistakes that can be easily be avoided and pathways for opportunity in building new relationships. Remember the golden days of MMA fandom which felt more like a community rather than a networking transaction with Crypto Bros and Korean stock day-traders?
If anything, recent industry developments are interesting and that’s what we really care about. So should you. Now is not the time for fatalism and learned helplessness.
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Nate Wilcox is Editor-in-Chief of The MMA Draw. He founded BloodyElbow.com in 2007 and sold it in 2024.
Zach Arnold is a lead opinion writer for The MMA Draw on Substack. His archives can be read at FightOpinion.com.
