Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson (25-11), has signed with Global Fight League (GFL), according to an announcement from the newly-formed mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, and is expected to be a part of the upcoming draft.
“El Cucuy,” who turns 41 in just a few weeks, dropped his eighth straight loss by getting strangled into submission by Michael Chiesa as part of the UFC Abu Dhabi fight card last August. Despite repeated calls for his retirement — and the surrendering of one glove — it appears “El Cucuy” is not ready to walk away from MMA just yet.
That’s not all.
GFL also revealed that UFC hall-of-famer, Rashad Evans, will be a part of the upcoming roster. Like Ferguson, it is not yet known which team or city “Suga” (20-8-1) will represent (more on that here) but combat sports fans should get those answers later tonight. Evans, now 45, has competed just once since parting ways with UFC back in 2018.
Other notable signees include Cat Zingano, Patricky Pitbull, and Uriah Hall.
“For the first time in the history of combat sports, the GFL is implementing a true team-based league model for MMA,” the promotion wrote. “GFL athletes become true equitable partners with 50% of all event revenue sources going directly to them. In addition, the GFL is contributing 8% of each athlete’s purse into a retirement fund and a 2% contribution going towards insurance.”
For more on the upcoming GFL season click here.