Ahead of a reported Jan. 22, 2026, show, TKO boxing has been quickly trying to reform the Muhammad Ali Act.

TKO, the UFC’s partner promotion, argues that the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act (MAABRA) is better for the health of the sport of boxing, while many fighters and fans oppose that view, claiming that it could contractually handcuff fighters and centralize power.

Former UFC CFO Nakisa Bidarian, now the CEO of Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, made it pretty clear he thinks being clouded in legal mumbo jumbo is a dangerous game for fighters.

The end goal? Turn boxing into the UFC: “UFC is really popular, and that’s because of Dana White,” Max Kellerman said at a recent TKO press conference. “He built something like the NBA. Stop [the boos] now because he’s about to do it for boxing again.”

Under the proposed legislation, the Unified Boxing Organization would be created, setting minimum pay ($150/round) and insurance ($25,000 in coverage).

TKO still has legal hurdles to clear.

“It’s good for TKO and bad for fighters,” Bidarian told The Post

“When I look at the details of what they are calling the Ali Revival Act, some of the details are good. But really, if you read into it clearly, you see that those guys at TKO have pretty smartly made it very hard for anyone else [to understand it] quickly. It’s almost a way of creating another monopoly for themselves.”

White, the UFC President and also involved in TKO, is pushing the MAABRA as an add-on to the original Ali Act which was signed into federal law in 2000.

Evander Holyfield previously said that this could lead to exploitative contracts, suppressed fighter pay and undermining fighter independence.

“The people who made ‘business first, fighters last’ a mega-sport,” Holyfield said of the act.

Bidarian, who, in addition to working in the fight promotion world with the UFC, also has a background in business, having graduated from Dartmouth and worked at Morgan Stanley, and is one of the few who can truly understand what the current Ali Act stands for now and whether the proposed changes are positive for the sport.

The boxing world is largely split on this issue.

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya and promoter Eddie Hearns oppose the reform, citing a lack of transparency and reliance on state commissions, while Mike Tyson and Kellerman argue that the UFC’s success would benefit the sport, although Kellerman is employed by RING Magazine, which Turki Alalshikh bought in 2024.

Bidarian previously said that he was mostly indifferent toward the changes, but added some key commentary.

“When I say I’m indifferent to it, my point is the following,” he said.

“‘What percentage of the revenue are you [TKO] willing to commit as a part of this revival act to the boxers?’ And Lawrence Epstein (Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for UFC), whom I think very highly of, said, ‘We can’t answer that right now, obviously.’ But obviously, you can because almost every startup in a sport or any business burns more than it makes. It’s unheard of if you start a business and right away you’re profitable. So for me, if they were to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to commit 50 percent of revenue to the athletes,’ then it makes the Ali Act change beautiful…. Last time I checked, TKO has 50 percent plus [(Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization] margins, which is insanity when you think about other sports. I’m not saying it’s not good for the shareholders, kudos for them. But I’ll tell you who it’s not good for — the fighters who are in there taking damage.”

Paul’s promotion, largely driven by Bidarian, has been making noise in the boxing world by putting on shows featuring Paul against older fighters or in different weight classes, drawing plenty of attention to the product, with some pundits calling the fights fixed.

After a fight against 130-pound champion Gervonta Davis for November was canceled due to a domestic violence allegation against Davis, Paul will box former heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua (252 pounds) on Dec. 19.

Paul is a massive underdog in the bout as Joshua is coming off a knockout of Francis Ngannou and has a 28-4 record.