Exclusive: Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian has signalled his intent to host an event in Australia by 2027 ahead of Cherneka Johnson’s bout in Orlando, Florida.

New Zealand-born Australian-based fighter Johnson will fight Denmark’s Dina Thorslund on Sunday morning (AEST) as the co-main event where the title of undisputed bantamweight world champion will be on the line.

Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul.  Getty Images for Netflix

Thorslund previously held both WBC and WBO belts but vacated both titles after withdrawing from a fight due to pregnancy.

Johnson will be joined on the card by fellow Australian Desley Robinson who will fight Tamm Thibeault.

Robinson and Johnson are joined by Ebanie Bridges and Skye Nicolson as the four Australians on MVP list, which is co-owned by Jake Paul.

Bidarian himself has a connection to Australia, with his wife born in Adelaide.

The boxing powerbroker previously confirmed to nine.com.au in May that he was looking for the “right opportunity” to do an event in Down Under, which Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn had approached him about. Bidarian had also said Paul would like to fight in the country.

Since then, Hearn and Bidarian have formed an alliance for women’s boxing and nine.com.au asked the latter if there was progress on that “right opportunity”.

“We’ve been spending time thinking about a Jake Paul fight in Australia,” he said.

“Now with Skye Nicolson – let’s see how Cherneka does on Saturday and Desley – we have enough Australian talent, champions on the roster, to do an event.

“So absolutely 2027 in Australia I want to do an event with all these incredible athletes.”

Johnson and Robinson themselves are only new to the MVP stable. Johnson has been there for more than a year, featuring in two fights which she’s both won.

Her battle with Thorslund will be one of her toughest bouts yet as the latter returns from a tragic miscarriage, which she said has made her more motivated than ever to reclaim her titles.

Bidarian praised Johnson’s intention to take on this fight.

“Every time we’ve called her and said here’s a day, here’s a fight, she’s said yes, I’m ready, I want it,” he said.

“Many people thought she’d want to push away from the Dina fight, Dina’s 24-0 … but Cherneka said ’I’m a fighter, this is what I do, I want to test myself against the best … I’m taking these belts back to Australia.

Desley Robinson and Cherneka Johnson with their world title belts. Most Valuable Promotions

“It’s going to be a tough fight to judge, I don’t know if it’s going to end in a finish … Neeks comes to fight, there’s no backing down and Dina is a bulldozer, so I can’t wait to see it.”

Robinson will form the other co-main event fight with this also her third fight for MVP. Robinson only recently fought Mary Spencer in May, and won. She is currently the IBF and WBO middleweight world champion.

Her opponent, Thibeault, is a Canadian Commonwealth Games gold medal winner and now has a 4-0 record in professional boxing.

“That fight has a lot of implications for the weight class and future of Desley and Tamm, the ring belt is on the line which is very meaningful because two weeks later Claressa Shields is fighting in the same weight class against another Australian in Kaye Scott,” he said.

“This is a quick turn for Desley, so I give her a lot of credit. She fought in May and when we asked her to think about coming back for this show, she didn’t hesitate. She’s a fighter through and through, she’s a single mother of three. Juggling motherhood and being a world champion is pretty incredible and her willingness to get back in the ring so quickly speaks to who she is.”

The fight night in Florida will be the fifth edition of MVP’s year-round global platform for women’s boxing, and is titled MVPW-05.

Crystina Poncher interviews Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden. Getty

It marks another step in the progress of MVP which recently merged with the Professional Fighters League as it attempts to shake-up the MMA scene.

Bidarian said he was “very excited” by how the merger could impact MVP.

“We had our first MMA event on May 16 which as of today is the most viewed MMA event in US history, and we saw an opportunity to build on that momentum and to do that in an organic way was the most logical path to ensure success for as long as possible,” he said.

“Jake and I are building MMA like we built boxing; four, five, six, seven years to get to a place we’re now in through this merger, which now has 315 athletes on the roster, which now has global infrastructure and experience putting on events.

“I think having a world-class CEO in John Martin who is a media titan but also an MMA lover since he was in his 20s, gives us a great start to becoming a dual-dominant player in combat sports, in boxing and MMA.”