(CNN)- To some, he is the promoter behind the fight that “broke the Internet”, the man responsible for bringing the controversial fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson to millions of viewers.
But he calls himself Nakisa Bidaryan “An Ordinary Accountant” Along with his partner Paul, the former YouTuber who defeated Tyson in last week’s disappointing but well-attended contest.
Biederian and Paul co-founded Most Valuable Promotions in 2021, and on Friday their company held its biggest event to date in front of 73,200 fans at a sold-out AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The main event itself was a lackluster affair, with Paul landing a total of 78 punches and Tyson only landing 18 of his 97 punches. At 58, 31 years older than his opponent and nearly two decades after his last professional fight, Tyson was clearly a shadow of the heavyweight champion he used to be.
But Biederian still considered the night a resounding success.
“Jake attended ayahuasca sessions and imagined that this fight (against Tyson) would happen,” he told CNN Sports after the fight. “In the end, when we got here, there were six different generations involved. Everyone from the original Boomers, born in the 1940s, to the demographic most passionate about Jake Paul, Generation Z and Generation Alpha, are all talking about this same phenomenon.
“We had reporters calling and telling us it was the first time his mother, who is in her 70s or 80s, had talked to her son about the fight. “That’s what makes it special,” he said.
For those who attended the event, the viewing experience was not without hiccups. Everyone became well acquainted with the Netflix loading screen after the servers crashed as a massive crowd of viewers tuned in to watch the first live boxing match in the history of the streaming platform.
Netflix later announced that a record 60 million households attended the event, reaching 65 million simultaneous streams. On Tuesday, Most Valuable Promotions announced that the event raised $18.1 million, making it the largest boxing or MMA event held outside of Las Vegas in U.S. history, as well as the ninth held outside of Las Vegas in U.S. history. Has become the biggest boxing or MMA event. The highest grossing fighting game in the history of the country.
“The incident broke the Internet,” Biederian said. “There has never been a streaming event of this magnitude in history. Could we make more money on pay-per-view? Absolutely,” he added. “But that wasn’t the goal here. “It was about legacy, it was about branding, it was about an iconic moment when the world stopped and re-engaged itself in boxing.”
Biederian has worked for several companies as an investor, consultant, and financial advisor, including a stint as CFO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2016.
He met Paul through a mutual friend in October 2019 and later promoted the former YouTuber’s boxing career.
“I was the executive producer of Mike Tyson’s exhibition fight against Roy Jones (in 2020),” Biederian said. “I brought Jake Paul in as a co-feature on that program, and that’s where Jake rose to fame as a brand new and young boxer.”
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Paul scored a knockout victory over former NBA player Nate Robinson in an undercard bout at that event, sending his boxing career to lucrative heights.
Biederien and Paul soon formed Most Valuable Promotions, announcing seven-division Women’s World Champion Amanda Serrano as the company’s first signee.
“It was really based on three things,” Biederian told CNN in July about his reasons for creating the company. “One, the wrestler-first mentality, really makes the wrestlers feel like they are the center of attention and getting the majority of the revenue. The second wanted to put double the pressure on women. I experienced that in MMA when Ronda Rousey achieved success and really took off in the sport. I think the same thing can happen in boxing, and Amanda was that medium, a perfect athlete, a perfect superstar. The third was to give a platform to young boxers.
While Paul enjoys an ostentatious and lavish lifestyle, often posting photos in exotic cars on social media and flying in a private jet with his girlfriend and Olympic athlete Jutta Leerdam, Biederien stays out of the public eye.
And while Paul’s boxing career has been criticized, with many condemning his bout against Tyson as a low-quality bout that was more spectacle than sport, Biederian is adamant that the 27-year-old The boxer has a legitimate presence in boxing.
Biederian said, “First and foremost, he is a dedicated boxer who has four years of professional experience… He has already gone further than most boxers who do not have amateur experience.”
“The level of competition he’s fighting on, the stage he’s fighting on, the amount of pressure he’s under is phenomenal.”
In Serrano, she and Paul are tasked with promoting one of the biggest names in women’s boxing.
The Puerto Rican’s light welterweight unification bout against Katie Taylor was the hottest match on Friday’s schedule in Texas, a rematch of the Irish star’s victory at Madison Square Garden two years ago.
Taylor won again in the second installment, although many in the audience booed in disbelief when the unanimous decision victory was announced. Both women put on a masterclass, with Serrano being the aggressor and Taylor moving forward with powerful punches, often striking her opponent’s head.
In the eighth round, Taylor was deducted one point after a fourth regulation headbutt. Serrano seemed to be in control, but the decision surprised him and he called Taylor a “dirty fighter”.
However, Biederian believes Serrano is in a strong position despite the loss.
“I feel lucky that I lost, actually,” he said. “I hate the decision, but I love the result. If Katie Taylor had not won there would have been a pre-negotiation trilogy. There is no trilogy going on now.”
“Amanda Serrano is in the best shape of her life. She is the face of women’s boxing. “I think everyone thought she’d won, and now she’s going to win in a way no woman has ever won in sports before, and it’s with her bank account because she’s making every bit of it.” Deserves a share.”
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