If you’ve watched a Jake Paul fight lately or kept tabs on the massive shift in how boxing gets sold to the masses, you’ve definitely heard the name Nakisa Bidarian. He’s the guy Dana White famously nicknamed "The Warlock." He's the suit behind the scenes who turned a YouTube disruptor into a nine-figure combat sports powerhouse. But whenever his name pops up in Reddit threads or sports bars, the same question follows: where is Nakisa Bidarian from originally?
The answer isn't a single city or even a single continent. Honestly, his background is about as global as the deals he brokers.
The Tehran Origins and the Great Escape
Nakisa Bidarian was born in Tehran, Iran, on January 12, 1978. But he didn't stay there long. His early childhood reads more like a geopolitical thriller than a typical suburban upbringing.
In 1979, the Iranian Revolution flipped the country upside down. His family actually left during his infancy but briefly returned when he was about three years old. It didn’t last. By the time the Iran-Iraq War was in full swing, things got scary. Bidarian has shared stories about his older brother being at risk of the draft at just 12 years old. We aren't talking about basic military service; we're talking about the horrific reality of children being used to clear landmines.
Naturally, his parents got them out.
They became nomads for a while. They lived in the United Kingdom. They moved to various parts of the United States. Eventually, they settled into a more permanent groove in Canada. This is why you’ll often see him described as "Iranian-Canadian." He’s got the heritage of the Middle East but the formative upbringing of the Great White North.
Why Toronto Matters More Than You Think
While he was born in Iran, Bidarian often identifies as being from Toronto. That’s where he really "grew up" in the cultural sense. He’s a massive sports fan, and not just the combat kind. He’s gone on record about his childhood love for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Raptors.
He didn't just hang out at the Scotiabank Arena, though. He was a numbers guy from the jump. He enrolled at the University of Waterloo in 1996, where he dug into Financial Economics. Waterloo isn't some party school; it’s a grind. It’s where people go when they want to run the world. This Canadian foundation provided the bridge to his Ivy League future at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business later on.
📖 Related: Amos Family Funeral Home & Crematory Obituaries: What Most People Get Wrong
The Global "Hustle" He Actually Hated
After he finished his MBA as a "Tuck Scholar," Bidarian’s career path looked like a map of the world's financial hubs. He spent time in New York working for Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.
You’d think a guy who runs the most aggressive boxing promotion in the world would love the "hustle" culture of NYC. He didn't. He’s admitted that he hated living in New York because it felt like everyone was constantly trying to one-up each other. He likes money—he’s been very open about that—but he’s not a "hustler" in the traditional, frantic sense. He’s a strategist.
This distaste for the New York grind led him back to the Middle East. He moved to Dubai in 2007 and eventually landed a gig with Mubadala Investment Company in Abu Dhabi. This was a turning point. Working for a sovereign wealth fund meant he was playing with billions, not millions. It’s also where he met the Fertitta brothers (the former owners of the UFC), which basically set the stage for everything he’s doing today.
👉 See also: 1000 US Dollars to Vietnamese Dong: What Most People Get Wrong
The Career Path in Prose
- Accenture: His first real gig in management consulting.
- Mubadala: Managing international real estate and hospitality.
- UFC CFO: The man who helped oversee the $4 billion sale to Endeavor.
- Fertitta Capital: CEO of the brothers' private equity arm.
- MVP: Co-founding Most Valuable Promotions with Jake Paul in 2021.
Is He Still in Canada?
Not really. While his roots are firmly in Toronto and his birth certificate says Tehran, Bidarian is a resident of the United States now. Most of his business is run out of Florida and Puerto Rico, where Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) is heavily active.
He’s moved around so much that "home" is more of a concept than a specific zip code. If you ask him where he’s from, he might give you a different answer depending on whether you’re asking about his heritage, his citizenship, or where he feels most comfortable.
Why This Global Identity Changes the Fight Game
Understanding where Nakisa Bidarian is from helps explain why MVP works. He doesn't look at boxing through a regional lens. He’s not a "Vegas guy" or a "London guy."
✨ Don't miss: USD to AUD Exchange Rate: What Most People Get Wrong
He sees the global market because he’s lived in it. When he pushed for the Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor fight at Madison Square Garden, he wasn't just thinking about the local crowd. He was thinking about how to market a Puerto Rican icon to a global audience. He understands how to bridge the gap between Middle Eastern investment (like the moves we’re seeing in Saudi Arabia) and Western entertainment.
Actionable Takeaways for Following Bidarian’s Career
If you’re trying to keep up with the "Warlock" and his next moves, here’s how to filter the noise:
- Watch the Partners, Not the Fighters: Bidarian’s strength is in his relationships with people like the Fertittas and streaming giants like Netflix. Where he goes, the big money follows.
- Focus on the Financial Structure: Unlike old-school promoters who just want a gate and a PPV, Bidarian builds brands. Look at Betr or the way MVP signs "prospects." It’s a venture capital model applied to human beings.
- Ignore the "Manager" Label: He’s stated he isn't Jake Paul’s manager—he’s his advisor. This is a crucial distinction. It means he’s focused on the macro, not the micro.
Nakisa Bidarian is a product of a dozen different cultures and some of the highest-pressure financial environments on the planet. He’s a Tehran-born, Toronto-bred, Ivy League-educated strategist who just happens to be disrupting the most chaotic sport in the world.