Global Fight League

Global Fight League

Sport	Mixed martial arts
Founder	Darren Owen (commissioner) [1] [2] Arun Parimi (chief operating officer) [2] Scott Parker (chief marketing officer) [2] Jeffrey Pollack (senior advisor) [2]
Owner(s)	WFL Properties, LLC [3]
Country	United States
Official website	mmagfl.com

The Global Fight League (GFL), originally announced as the World Fight League (WFL), ^{[4] [5]} is an upcoming American mixed martial arts (MMA) league scheduled to launch in April 2025. ^[6] Founded by Darren Owen and Arun Parimi, the league held its inaugural draft on January 24, 2025, where fighters were allocated to city-based teams. ^{[7] [8]} The GFL’s fighter-centric business model is expected to include health and injury insurance, a structured retirement fund, and a 50% event-specific revenue share with the fighters. ^[9]

History

The Global Fight League (GFL), originally announced as the World Fight League (WFL), launches in April 2025. GFL was founded by Darren Owen, who serves as the league's acting commissioner, and Arun Parimi, who serves as the league's chief operating officer, with the backing of Scott Parker, who serves as the chief marketing officer, and Jeffrey Pollack, who is the GFL's senior advisor.

The GFL puts on fights across ten weight-divisions, which differs from MMA's traditional weight classes: women's atomweight (110 lbs), women's strawweight (120 lbs), women's flyweight (130 lbs), women's bantamweight (140 lbs), men's bantamweight (145 lbs), featherweight (155 lbs), lightweight (165 lbs), welterweight (180 lbs), middleweight (200 lbs), light heavyweight (225 lbs), and heavyweight (265 lbs). ^[10] The GFL had a 300-fighter roster where 120 athletes were assigned to six teams, composed of 20 fighters with two fighters representing each of the 10 weight classes. ^[10] A scoring system is set for the GFL's bouts where fighters earn four points for a finish, three for a decision win, two for a draw, one for a decision loss and zero for a defeat via finish. The points contribute to each team's total score. ^[9]

On December 11, 2024, it was announced that GFL had signed Tyron Woodley, Fabrício Werdum, Anthony Pettis, Junior dos Santos, Luke Rockhold, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Renan Barão, and Benson Henderson, all former Ultimate Fighting Championship title holders. Other GFL signees Marlon Moraes, Wanderlei Silva, Gegard Mousasi, Rafael Carvalho, Lance Palmer, and Will Brooks were champions in other major organizations such as the Pride Fighting Championships, Bellator MMA, and the World Series of Fighting. ^[11]

Teams and fighters

The draft was streamed live on January 24, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. Six teams will take part in GFL's inaugural season, and the teams consist of as follows:

Notes: HW = Heavyweight ; LHW - Light Heavyweight ; MW = Middleweight ; WW = Welterweight ; LW = Lightweight ; FW = Featherweight ; BW = Bantamweight ; WBW = Women's Bantamweight ; WSW = Women's Strawweight ; WAW = Women's Atomweight.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6
ISO
City	Miami	São Paulo	London	New York City	Dubai	Los Angeles
Manager	Thiago Alves	Lyoto Machida	Luke Barnatt	TBD	Cain Velasquez	Wanderlei Silva
Head Coach	Conan Silveira	André Pederneiras	Carl Prince	Ray Longo	Javier Mendez	Rafael Cordeiro
Fighters	Junior dos Santos - HW Robelis Despaigne - HW Thiago Santos - LHW Philipe Lins - LHW Yoel Romero - MW Héctor Lombard - MW Gleison Tibau - WW Dilano Taylor - WW Jeremy Stephens - LW Anthony Pettis - LW Charles Rosa - FW Andre Harrison - FW Marlon Moraes - BW Eric Shelton - BW Mariya Agapova - WBW Cat Zingano - WBW Paige VanZant - WSW Hannah Goldy - WSW Natasha Kuziutina - WAW Kayla Kracho - WAW	Bruno Cappelozza - HW Fabrício Werdum - HW Antônio Carlos Júnior - LHW Maurício Rua - LHW Dhiego Lima - MW Alan Patrick - MW Alex Oliveira - WW Carlos Petruzzella - WW Patricky Pitbull - LW Lucas Martins - LW Julio Arce - FW Maike Linhare - FW Raphael Assunção - BW Renan Barão - BW Alejandra Lara - WBW Paula Bittencourt - WBW Camila Reynoso - WSW Viviane Pereira - WSW Joice Mara - WAW Pamela Mara - WAW	Tanner Boser - HW Stuart Austin - HW Ilir Latifi - LHW Alexander Gustafsson - LHW Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz - MW Gegard Mousasi - MW Norman Parke - WW Danny Roberts - WW Tim Wilde - LW Benson Henderson - LW Mike Grundy - FW Brett Johns - FW Josh Hill (fighter) - BW Cameron Else - BW Pannie Kianzad - WBW Julia Budd - WBW Karolina Owezarz - WSW Josefine Lindgren Knutsson - WSW Kelly Staddon - WAW Chiara Penco - WAW	Aleksei Oleinik - HW Alan Belcher - HW Ovince Saint Preux - LHW Devin Clark - LHW Chris Weidman - MW Phil Hawes - MW Dillon Danis - WW Neiman Gracie - WW Kevin Lee - LW Sidney Outlaw - LW Kai Kamaka III - FW Lance Palmer - FW Zviad Lazishvili - BW Jimmie Rivera - BW Liana Jojua - WBW Holly Holm - WBW Maio Ding - WSW Melissa Amaya - WSW Marisa Messer-Belenchia - WAW Bi Nguyen - WAW	Ali Isaev - HW Todd Duffee - HW Ronny Markes - LHW Omari Akhmedov - LHW Luke Rockhold - MW Derek Brunson - MW Abubakar Nurmagomedov - WW Tyron Woodley - WW Tofiq Musayev - LW Damir Ismagulov - LW Khumoyun Tukhtamurodov - FW Adilet Numatov - FW Timur Valiev - BW Farbod Iran Nezhad - BW Arlene Blencowe - WBW Alexa Conners - WBW Randi Field - WSW Faine Mesquita - WSW Jessica Aguilar - WAW Anatasia Nikolakakos - WAW	Andrei Arlovski - HW Frank Mir - HW Rashad Evans - LHW Da Woon Jung - LHW Uriah Hall - MW Grant Neal - MW Louis Glismann - WW Lorenz Larkin - WW Tony Ferguson - LW Sage Northcutt - LW Tyler Diamond - FW Chad Mendes - FW Urijah Faber - BW Ray Borg - BW Leslie Smith - WBW Aspen Ladd - WBW Cynthia Calvillo - WSW Ilima-Lei Macfarlane - WSW Jessica Penne - WAW Cory McKenna - WAW
Ref.	[12] [13]	[12] [13]	[12] [13]	[12] [13]	[12] [13]	[12] [13]

List of undrafted signees for the 2025 season

The following is a list of fighters who were eligible but not drafted for the 2025 season of the GFL following the official draft that was held on January 25, 2025: ^{[14] [15]}

Heavyweight:
Juan Adams, Ahmed Jabbar Al Rubaye, Rakim Cleveland, Quentin Domingos, Davion Franklin, Greg Hardy, Jordan Heiderman, Guto Inocente, Christian Larsen, Roman Lukashevich, Aleksandr Maslov, Fernando Rodrigues Jr., Ronald Girones Sago, Alexander Soldatkin, Roggers Souza, Said Sowma, Oli Thompson
Light Heavyweight:
Julius Anglickas, Chris Camozzi, Rafael Carvalho, Acádio dos Santos, Mateusz Duczmal, Luis Henrique, Jamelle Jones, Roman Lukashevich, Caio Machado, Hasan Mezhiev, Edinaldo Novaes, Masoud Safari, Cleiton Silva, Emiliano Sordi, Anton Turkalj
Middleweight:
John Allan, Lucas Alsina, David Branch, Jorge Bueno, Pieter Buist, Rodrigo Cavalheiro, Adis Dadovic, Kyle Daukaus, Zaza Dokhnadze, Jonathan Figueroa, Chauncey Foxworth, Glaico Franca, Tornike Gigauri, Dwight Grant, Oton Jasse, Thomas Lane, Willker Lemos, Nayib Lopez, Simon Marcus, Jack Marshman, Markus Perez, Jared Revel, Leonardo Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Mark Stoddard, Jozef Wittner
Welterweight:
Tahir Abdullaev, Eric Alequin, Ndidi Alonu, Jose Lucas Alves, Fabrício Azevedo, E.J. Brooks, Chris Brown, Yosdenis Cedeno, Lucas Clay, Efraín Escudero, Handesson Ferreira, Gabriel Souza Galindo, Michael Irizarry, Magomed Kabardiev, Thiago Lima, Marcos Lloreda, Ruan Machado, Jordan Mein, Manuel Mena, Dominick Meriweather, Danny Mitchell, Aziz Pakhrudinov, Sasha Palatnikov, Rousimar Palhares, Pat Pytlik, Ashley Reece, Emin Sharifow, Eduardo Souza, Julio Spadaccini, Francisco Trinaldo, Austin Tweedy, Jozef Wittner, João Zeferino
Lightweight:
Magomed Akaev, Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev, Saad Awad, Agshin Babaev, Nicolas Barna, Raimundo Batista, Stephen Beaumont, Will Brooks, Yan Cabral, Ignacio Capella, Ayton De Paepe, Nathan Ghareeb, Christos Giagos, Thibault Gouti, Andrew Guisa, Milos Janicic, William Lima, John Makdessi, Mukhiddin Mamazhonov, Aaron McKenzie, John Mitchell, Mohamed Tarek Mohey, Killys Mota, Ayinda Nah, Tom O’Connor, Ayinda Octave, Romario Orozco, Oscar Ownsworth, Jairo Pacheco, Jefferson Pontes, Juliando Prescendo, Kyle Prepolec, Gustavo Ribeiro, Saul Rogers, Vladislav Rudnev, Gabriel Souza, Mohamed Tarek, Murad Umachiev, Feruz Usmonov, Kazula Vargas, Yao Hongang, Magomed Yunusilau
Featherweight:
Mohammad Qwai Abzakh, Marcel Adur, Carlos Alexandre, Huseyn Aliyev, Thomas Assis, Deberson Batista, Artem Belakh, Marco Beltrán, Claudeci Brito, Walter Cagliandro, Lucas Caio, Alexsandro Cangaty, Pedro Carvalho, Pedro Colman, Diego Davella, Patrizio de Sousa, Marcelo Dias, Leonardo Diniz, Ylies Djiroun, Brett Johns, Alexsandro Lopes, Donny Matos, Rakhim Midaev, Lucas Miletich, Kenny Mokhonoana, Leonardo Morales, Renan Oliveira, Zygimantas Ramaska, Jamie Siraj, Emrah Sonmez, Edilson Teixeira, Chris Wade, Matthew Wagy
Bantamweight:
Lasha Abramishvili, Marcus Paulo Amaral, Omar Arteaga, Gamlet Aslanov, Ricky Bandejas, Andre Barquero, Darrion Caldwell, Altamiro De Jesus, Romania Denis, Marciano Ferreira, Marcelo Guarilha, Ali Guliev, Bubba Jenkins, Xian Ji, Saidyokub Kakhramonov, Brian Kelleher, Dileno Lopes, Edson Lourenco, Victor Madrigal, Farbod Iran Nezad, Matheus Nicolau, Denis Palancica, Mariano Pupi, Louie Sanoudakis, Eric Shelton, Miguel Angel Sosa, Andre Soukhamthath, Diego Teixeira, Jose Maria Tome, Ali Wasuk, Felipe Zacaron
Women's Bantamweight:
Ferbabda Barbisa, Talita Bernardo, Queila Braga, Juliet Chukwu, Emilse Chirino, Brittney Cloudy, Alana Cook, Alexa Conners, Bianaca Daimoni, Thalita Diniz, Julia Dorny, Tonya Evinger, Lina Fayyad, Fernanda Guersone, Elina Kallionidou, Mariza Loch, Evelyn Martins, Gisele Moreira, Vladlena Petrova, Andressa Rocha, Lorrany Santos, Sabriye Şengül, Tamires Vidal, Luz Vazquez, Zurina Turrey, Shanna Young
Women's Strawweight:
Mara Romero Borella, Veronika Borisova, Kalindra Faria, Justine Kish, Janaisa Morandin, Elin Oberg, Antonia Silvaneide, Maiju Suotama
Women's Atomweight:
Maiken Aannerud, Anita Bekus, Yasmin Castanho, Isabela de Padua, Eva Dourthe, Brenda Gottig, Maria Henderson, Jada Ketley, Samantha Jean-Francois, Claire Lopez, Maria Luiz de Abreu, Pâmela Mara Assis, Silvania Monteiro, Erika Sousa, Lívia Renata Souza, Hayley Valentine, Shino VanHoose, Isis Verbeek

See also

• List of current GFL fighters

References

1. Evanoff, Josh (2024-12-11). "Global Fight League announces April 2025 launch, roster comprised of 8 ex-UFC champions including Tyron Woodley | BJPenn.com". | BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
2. "Global Fight League announces launch, roster includes giant list of former UFC fighters". MMA Junkie. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
3. "GFL GLOBAL FIGHT LEAGUE". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
4. Tessier, Colin (Jan 16, 2024). "Global Fight League To Launch First Team-Based International MMA League With 50/50 Revenue Split". | Fightful.com. Retrieved Jan 6, 2025.
5. Riggs, drake (Dec 11, 2024). "Global Fight League reveals massive list of signings, including 8 ex-UFC champs, for new team-based MMA organization". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved Jan 6, 2025.
6. Evanoff, Josh (2024-12-11). "Global Fight League announces April 2025 launch, roster comprised of 8 ex-UFC champions including Tyron Woodley | BJPenn.com". | BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
7. Writer, James Brizuela Contributing Sports (2024-12-11). "Multiple Former UFC Stars Added to New Global Fight League Organization". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
8. Mazique, Brian. "10 Former UFC Champions Headline New MMA Organization's Roster". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
9. Sherdog.com. "Global Fight League Reveals Team-Based Format, Roster with Multiple Ex-UFC Champs". Sherdog. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
10. "Global Fight League reveals massive list of signings, including 8 ex-UFC champs, for new team-based MMA organization". Yahoo Sports. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
11. Meshew, Jed (2024-12-11). "Global Fight League announces new team-based organization, huge list of signings including 8 former UFC champions". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
12. Anderson, Jay (2025-01-16). "Six Teams, Coaches and Managers Announced for GFL's Inaugural Season". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
13. Tucker, Bryan (2025-01-24). "GFL Draft 2025 results by round, live stream". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
14. Nolan King (2025-01-24). "GFL draft results: Former UFC champions surprise with unexpected entries". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
15. Global Fight League (2025-01-25). "GFL - Athletes Page". mmagfl.com. Retrieved 2025-01-25.

External links

• Official website