The future of MMA is here 🌍
The Global Fight League will launch in 2025. Revolutionize MMA with the first global team-based MMA league featuring legends, contenders, and rising stars.
Please see the link in the profile for details🔗#GFL
#GlobalFightLeague #mixed martial arts #Future of MMA
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— Global Fight League (@mmagfl)
December 13, 2024
Last week, the official announcement regarding the launch of the Global Fight League shook the mixed martial arts world.
So far, more than 50 fighters, including former UFC champions, are reportedly signed to the upstart promotion. Sherdog recently spoke with three former titleholders, Junior dos Santos, Renan Barao and Fabricio Werdum, and all confirmed their participation and expressed excitement about the possibility of a new promotion.
Barao, now 37 and the first Brazilian bantamweight champion in the UFC, resigned from the promotion in November 2019 after losing seven of his last eight fights. In 2023, Barao accepted an invitation to fight in Kuwait, where he lost a decision to Walter Zamorano. He hasn’t fought since.
“I was just training in jiu-jitsu when I got the call from my manager,” Barao said. “I understood it right away, I liked the system and I’m happy to be able to defend Brazil in MMA. The proposal was great and actually could have been better, but anyway, it’s just me gave me the motivation to get back into my MMA training routine. I fight twice a year at featherweight and had high expectations to present myself in the best possible way.
Meanwhile, Werdum, 47, who mentioned the new organization in an exclusive interview with Sherdog in November, revealed he already knows his opponent. According to Vai Cavalo, the former UFC champion will be known for his skill on the ground.
“I loved the idea of the new event, and best of all, the suggestions were great, including the pre-suggestion to stop podcasts and lectures so I could focus 100% on training,” Werdum said. “The fight will take place in April, so I have already started light training and will be camping in Curitiba with Andre Dida and Wanderlei. “In the last few weeks we will be hosting maestro Rafael Cordeiro. Masu.”
Werdum last competed at Gamebred Bare Knuckle MMA 5, where he lost a split decision to Dos Santos. The former UFC rivals have been on good terms lately.
“The world is definitely changing,” Werdum said. “Who would have thought that we would go from being rivals to becoming friends and training partners together representing Brazil in the GFL? It’s great to be together with Cigano, who represents Brazil.”
Dos Santos, the current Gamebred heavyweight champion with recent wins over Werdum and Alan Belcher, revealed to Sherdog that he is already in shape to defend his title. A new opportunity for promotion further increased his motivation.
“I think GFL is going to have an impact on the MMA world,” Dos Santos said. “I love this idea of a team and will do everything I can to make the project a success. I can’t wait to find out who my first opponent will be. GFL is about to start a revolution. There’s no question, it’s an honor for me to be a part of it all, and I’m very excited.”
As reported on Sherdog last week, the new MMA league aims to bring back a team competition structure to the sport, with 50 fighters already signed to compete in the inaugural season in 2025. There is. In addition to JDS, Werdum, and Barao, the list includes several other notable stars from Pride, Strikeforce, Bellator, PFL, World Series of Fighting, and more.
The Global Fight League (GFL) plans to hold its first event in April 2025, according to founder Darren Owen. The schedule for the first season includes 15 events from April to September and three playoff events from September to November with the finals. According to the announcement, a group of 300 fighters will be available to participate in the draft, and six teams will select 20 fighters for each team. Each team will have two athletes in each of the 10 weight classes. This includes three women’s divisions (strawweight, flyweight, and bantamweight) and seven men’s divisions (bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight). The new league also promises to split 50% of players’ earnings equally, in addition to severance pay and a scholarship payment system with no win bonus, but a win guarantees a raise on the next game. has been done.
