Nakisa Bidarian Announces Jake Paul's Return: What MVP Said

Updated: October 2026

The Jake Paul return became official in early October 2026, and the news came from the man who has been beside him for the entire boxing journey. Nakisa Bidarian, Paul's business partner and promoter and the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, announced that Paul had been medically cleared to fight again after roughly 293 days out — the layoff that followed the broken jaw Paul suffered in his December 2025 knockout loss to Anthony Joshua. The announcement was reported by USA Today on October 8, 2026, with ESPN and theScore among the outlets covering the comeback. Here is who Bidarian is, what the announcement means, and what MVP's role in the comeback will be.

Who Is Nakisa Bidarian?

Nakisa Bidarian is the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions and Jake Paul's business partner and promoter — the executive half of one of the most unusual partnerships in modern boxing. While Paul is the face, the fighter, and the provocateur, Bidarian is the operator: the person who turns callouts into contracts, ideas into events, and a YouTuber's boxing experiment into a functioning promotional company.

Their partnership goes back to the beginning of Paul's professional boxing career. Paul debuted in January 2020 with a first-round stoppage of AnEsonGib, and across the years that followed — the knockouts of Nate Robinson and Ben Askren, the two fights with Tyron Woodley, the win over Anderson Silva, the loss to Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia, the victories over Nate Diaz, Andre August, Ryan Bourland, and Mike Perry, the Mike Tyson event at AT&T Stadium in Texas, and the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. win in Anaheim — Bidarian and MVP have been the promotional engine behind the operation. The company has grown from a vehicle for Paul's own fights into a genuine player in the sport, including a significant role in women's boxing through its work with fighters like Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor.

That history matters for the comeback because it establishes who is steering. When Bidarian announces that Paul is cleared, it is not a rumor or a social media tease — it is the promoter of record stating a medical fact about his fighter. In a sport full of noise, that carries weight.

What MVP Said: The Clearance Announcement

According to USA Today's October 8, 2026 report, Bidarian announced that Paul had received medical clearance to return to boxing, ending a layoff of roughly 293 days. The clearance followed the double jaw fracture Paul suffered when Joshua knocked him out in the sixth round on December 19, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami — an injury that required two surgeries, with titanium plates reportedly used in the repair.

To be clear about sourcing: this article paraphrases what was reported, because direct quotes from the announcement should be read in the original reporting. What the announcement established, in substance, is straightforward and enormously significant for Paul's career. Doctors have signed off. The jaw — broken in two places, operated on twice — has healed to the point where medical professionals will allow him to take punches to it again in professional competition. The 293-day exile is over.

The timing of the announcement is also worth noting. It landed in the same early-October window in which Paul himself posted his "Before I rest..." opponent wish list on X, naming Deontay Wilder, Tom Aspinall, Francis Ngannou, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Ryan Garcia, Canelo Alvarez, Sean Strickland, Darren Till, KSI, Chris Eubank, and Edgar Berlanga before closing with "World Title." Fighter and promoter moving in the same week, with complementary messages — the fighter signaling ambition, the promoter confirming readiness — is how a comeback rollout is supposed to work.

MVP's Role in the Comeback: What Happens Next

This is where Bidarian's announcement shifts from news to preview. Most Valuable Promotions is not just Paul's promoter in name; it is the company that will build the comeback from the ground up. That job has several layers, and each one is now in motion.

First is matchmaking. Paul's wish list gives MVP a menu, but a promoter's job is to turn a menu into a main event. The realistic considerations are familiar: which opponents are available, which make competitive sense for a fighter coming off a knockout loss and a long layoff, which make business sense, and which can be staged on a timeline that respects the medical reality of a twice-broken jaw. Expect MVP to weigh spectacle against prudence — the company's track record suggests it understands both.

Second is the event itself. MVP has staged Paul's biggest nights, including the Tyson spectacle at AT&T Stadium, and the comeback event will need to feel like an occasion, not just a fight. Venue rumors will swirl; the announcement of date, venue, and undercard is the next real milestone fans should watch for.

Third is the narrative. MVP has always sold Paul's career as a story — the YouTuber who became a real fighter, the underdog who kept winning — and the comeback chapter writes itself: 293 days out, two surgeries, a broken jaw, and a return aimed at the biggest names in combat sports. Bidarian's announcement was the opening line of that story. The wish list was the second. The rest will be written in negotiations, training camp, and eventually, under the lights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who announced Jake Paul's medical clearance?

Nakisa Bidarian, Paul's business partner and promoter and the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, announced the clearance in early October 2026. It was reported by USA Today on October 8, 2026.

Who is Nakisa Bidarian?

Bidarian is the co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions and Jake Paul's longtime business partner and promoter — the executive behind Paul's boxing events since the start of his professional career, and a key figure in MVP's expansion, including its prominent role in women's boxing.

What injury was Jake Paul cleared from?

A jaw broken in two places, suffered in his sixth-round knockout loss to Anthony Joshua on December 19, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami. He underwent two surgeries, with titanium plates reportedly used, and was out for roughly 293 days.

Has Jake Paul's next opponent been announced?

No. The clearance is confirmed, and Paul posted an opponent wish list on X naming twelve fighters and ending with "World Title," but no opponent, date, or venue has been announced as of October 2026.

The announcement was short, but its meaning is long. A promoter does not declare his fighter medically cleared unless the comeback is real and the next moves are already being planned. Bidarian has now said the words and USA Today has reported them. What MVP builds on top of this foundation — the opponent, the event, the story — will define the next chapter of the most-watched boxing career of the social media era.