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The newly created Global Fight League (GFL) has announced a lengthy list of signings ahead of its launch in 2025, including multiple former champions from the UFC and other organizations.
After years of preparation, the GFL is set to stage events for the first time next April, as the promotion looks to succeed in the fight game with a team-based format and season structure.
15 cards are planned up until August, after which two playoff events and one final will take place before the year's end. GFL founder Darren Owen outlined that and more during an appearance on Wednesday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned.
Perhaps most notably, he revealed some of the major names who have put pen to paper on deals with the GFL and will be in the mix for the inaugural draft on Jan. 24, when six city teams will select 20 fighters (two in each of the 10 divisions) from a pool of 300 athletes.
Among them are former UFC champions Luke Rockhold, Tyron Woodley, Fabrício Werdum, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and Renan Barão, in addition to high-profile veterans like Alexander Gustafsson, Gegard Mousasi, Aleksei Oleinik, Kevin Lee, Thiago Santos, Jeremy Stephens, Hector Lombard and Jimmie Rivera.
48-year-old legend Wanderlei Silva's inclusion marks one of many concerns highlighted by the MMA community. This year, "The Axe Murderer" and 47-year-old Werdum both cited irreversible brain damage in their statements for the now-settled antitrust lawsuit against the UFC.
Elsewhere, a number of other comebacks have raised skeptical eyebrows, including the latest return from retirement for ex-WSOF champ Marlon Moraes, who most recently hung up the gloves after a brief stint in the PFL extended his losing skid to seven straight fights.
For the full list of names confirmed by Owen and those on the GFL website, see below:
Heavyweight (265lbs)
- Alan Belcher (18-8)
- Aleksandr Maslov (11-1)
- Aleksei Oleinik (61-18-1)
- Andrei Arlovski (34-24)
- Fabrício Werdum (24-9)
- Frank Mir (16-11)
- Greg Hardy (7-5)
- Guto Inocente (11-6)*
- Junior dos Santos (21-10)
- Oli Thompson (18-9)
- Philipe Lins (18-5)
- Robelis Despaigne (5-2)
- Roggers Souza (15-8)
- Stuart Austin (18-9)
- Tanner Boser (21-10)
Light Heavyweight (225lbs)
- Alexander Gustafsson (18-8)
- Cleiton Silva (16-4)
- Emiliano Sordi (23-10)
- Ilir Latifi (16-9, 1 NC)*
- Rafael Carvalho (17-8)
- Thiago Santos (22-13, 1 NC)*
Middleweight (200lbs)
- Gegard Mousasi (49-9)
- Chauncey Foxworth (19-10)
- Glaico Franca (23-8)
- Hector Lombard (34-10)
- Jozef Wittner (16-4)
- Kyle Daukaus (15-4)
- Luke Rockhold (16-6)
- Markus Perez (14-6)
- Phil Hawes (15-4)
- Wanderlei Silva (35-14)
Welterweight (180lbs)
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-4)
- Austin Tweedy (11-4)
- Benson Henderson (30-12)
- Dominick Meriweather (8-1)
- Francisco Trinaldo (32-14)
- Jordan Mein (31-14)
- Julio Spadaccini (8-3)
- Michael Irizarry (14-5)
- Rousimar Palhares (19-11-1)
- Ruan Machado (7-2)
- Tyron Woodley (19-7)
Lightweight (165lbs)
- Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev (11-4)
- Anthony Pettis (25-14)
- Ayinda Octave (5-0)
- Ayton De Paepe (12-4)
- Charles Rosa (14-8)
- Feruz Usmonov (4-1)
- Gabriel Souza Galindo (9-1)*
- Jefferson Pontes (6-1)
- Jeremy Stephens (29-21)
- John Makdessi (18-9)
- Kevin Lee (20-8)
- Killys motta (15-4)
- Lucas Martins (22-7)
- Mohamed Tarek Mohey (9-4)
- Oscar Ownsworth (8-3)
- Raimundo Batista (18-3)
- Sidney Outlaw (19-6)
- Stephen Beaumont (11-3)
- Will Brooks (26-5)
- William Lima (6-3)
- Yan Cabral (15-3)
Featherweight (155lbs)
- Alexsandro Cangaty (10-4)
- Andre Harrison (22-3-1)
- Claudeci Brito (11-4)
- Deberson Batista (12-4)
- Lance Palmer (22-5)
- Lucas Martins (22-7)*
- Marcel Adur (16-5)
- Marcelo Dias (14-6)
- Marlon Moraes (23-13)
- Patrizio de Souza (18-6)
- Renan Oliveira (11-2)
Bantamweight (145lbs)
- Andre Soukhamthath (14-10)*
- Andre Harrison (22-3-1)*
- Bubba Jenkins (21-9)*
- Cameron Else (11-6)*
- Denis Palancica (10-1)
- Diego Teixeira (7-4)
- Jimmie Rivera (23-5)
- Marciano Ferreira (13-3)
- Omar Arteaga (11-1)
- Pedro Carvalho (13-10)*
- Renan Barão (34-0)
Women's Bantamweight (140lbs)
- Alexa Conners (8-5)
- Kalindra Faria (19-10-1)
- Pannie Kianzad (16-9)
- Tonya Evinger (19-8-1)
Women's Flyweight (130lbs)
- Chiara Penco (9-5)
- Karolina Owczarz (5-3)*
- Miao Ding (18-8)
Women's Strawweight (120lbs)
- Bi Nguyen (6-9)
- Silvania Monteiro (11-4)
*Fighter's weight class for the 2025 draft not yet disclosed on the GFL website
While the chances of a team-based format succeeding in MMA have been doubted by plenty of analysts in the media space, Owen explained to Helwani why he's confident of it working.
We're able to create unique storylines that have never existed in the sport," Owen said. "That's one thing we keep hearing. Everyone loves the sport of MMA but the storylines are often not there. What this brings is the talking points, the, 'OK, are these two fighters going to be teammates or are they going to be potentially fighting?' And different strategies that come in, different betting elements that come in.
The No. 1 driver in sports fandom proven is cheering for your favorite team. Favorite teams have never really existed in the sport of MMA. So we're just creating what already exists and you see it across all the major professional leagues in the world, and this is just the implementation of that team-based league model for the third most popular sport in the world.
Fighter contracts with the GFL will be exclusive and include a rare 50/50 revenue split. The promotion is also promising to contribute eight percent of each athlete's purse into a retirement fund and two toward insurance.
Whatever revenue we receive, whether it's media rights deals, sponsorships, ticket sales, all of that, 50% goes into the fighter revenue pool from that specific event and then those fighters that are on that event are the ones who share in that revenue percentage.
Athletes get paid either or — whatever is greater — their guaranteed amount or their revenue share percentage. So someone might have a $50,000 guaranteed purse and they earn 1% revenue share, but if there's $10 million in that revenue pool for that event, then they're going to receive $100,000 instead of what they were thinking was $50,000.
A lot seemingly still needs to come together before the GFL's launch in 2025, including a broadcast deal before events are staged in April.
Owen confirmed talks are set to take place regarding that in January, and if no agreement is made with an outside entity, he told Helwani the organization is prepared to create its own platform to stream on.