Paul Gift, PhD

Biography

Paul Gift is a sports economist with a research focus on mixed martial arts. Dr. Gift’s interests pertain to many facets of the MMA industry including behavioral biases and judging, the role of financial and environmental factors on fighter performance, determination of fighter marginal revenue products, and predictive analytics.

Dr. Gift was formerly licensed as an MMA referee and judge and was also a regular MMA business contributor for Forbes. His sports research has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Ariel Helwani’s Uncrowned, ESPN’s Grantland, and popular media including Around the Horn, Olbermann, and various MMA and boxing podcasts.

At Pepperdine, Dr. Gift teaches the core microeconomics MBA course in the full-time and online programs. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA where he specialized in econometrics, industrial organization, and law and economics. Prior to joining Pepperdine, Dr. Gift worked as a litigation consultant providing expert witness support for antitrust cases involving monopolization, foreclosure, exclusive dealing, tying, bundling, horizontal price fixing, and estimation of economic damages.

Education

• University of California, Doctor of Philosophy 

• University of California, Master of Arts

• Pepperdine University, Bachelor of the Arts