If you thought things with the Global Fight League (GFL) were a circus after the draft, things took even more of a turn on Jan. 25 thanks to a claim on social media made by Rashad Evans.
Evans, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, was announced by the promotion to have been drafted to the GFL team based in Los Angeles as one of its two light heavyweight competitors, with the other being Da Woon Jung.
This caught the attention of another legendary former champion in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson — a longtime rival of Evans’. The two have been pegged to reignite their rivalry with a boxing bout in April, with “Suga” confirming those plans in November.
Jackson, via social media, asked how it was possible for Evans to be drafted by the promotion due to their booked bout.
Well, according to Evans, he never agreed to be part of such a draft.
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If Evans’ claim is true, this is the latest in a series of confusing moves and criticism the promotion is already facing before an event is even scheduled.
The GFL came under fire for several reasons in regard to its draft, from a stream for such an event not being set up until the day of, to the pacing of the draft broadcast, to the AI-created introduction video and content.
There’s also the fact that the full teams were released in full after the fifth round, despite the promotion’s claim that this was to be a “live” draft.
This news also brings speculation on fighters actually having signed with the promotion into question. Examples of this include Tony Ferguson signing with the GFL despite the UFC having not formally released him, as well as the promotion claiming to have signed Kenny Mokhonoana, who then fought on the PFL Champions Series card the day after the GFL Draft.
