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Addressing the ‘Elephant in the Room’ – Chris Weidman Comments on UFC Exit and GFL Draft

Addressing the ‘Elephant in the Room’ - Chris Weidman's Comments on UFC Exit and GFL Draft Chris Weidman is addressing the elephant in the room. Earlier this month, the ‘All American’ announced his retirement from…

Chris Weidman is addressing the elephant in the room.

Earlier this month, the ‘All American’ announced his retirement from mixed martial arts during the UFC 311 weigh-in show. Weidman was given ample time to make the announcement, bringing an end to a 13-year run inside the Octagon that saw him earn wins over Demian Maia, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Kelvin Gastelum. Along the way, Weidman captured the middleweight championship and successfully defended it three times.

Chris Weidman announces his retirement from the UFC. pic.twitter.com/58xG6JtJVO

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) January 17, 2025

Eight days later, Weidman is officially coming out of retirement.

During Friday’s live Global Fight League draft, ‘All American’ was selected by Team New York as the seventh overall pick and is expected to take part in the promotion’s inaugural regular season when it kicks off in April.

During the live draft broadcast, Weidman offered some insight into his decision to cut his retirement short one week after announcing it.

“The elephant in the room is I just retired from UFC,” Weidman said. “A lot of people thought I was done fighting,” explained Weidman. “I didn’t know. I thought maybe I’m done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but it had to be good. This is a league with a lot of guys I have a history with. You got Luke Rockhold, you got Gegard Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall.

“Rockhold was my first loss ever. That was a tough pill for me to swallow. We were supposed to rematch a bunch of times in UFC, but it never happened. So that would be a fight I’d love to have. It’s older dudes that I have a lot of history with. I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money. It’s not something I really feel like I can say no to. It’s really an exciting time for me.”

Chris Weidman joined by 19 other fighters on Team New York

Joining Weidman on Team New York will be former UFC light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux, ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee, ex-bantamweight queen Holly Holm, BJJ specialist Dillon Danis, and former BKFC heavyweight champion Alan Belcher.

Full Rosters for All 6 Global Fight League Teams Revealed!

All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season. On Friday, the promotion held its…

All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season.

On Friday, the promotion held its first-ever live draft hosted by former UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg and a host of others. The No. 1 pick of the evening saw Team Dubai select former UFC welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley who has not competed in a mixed martial arts bout in nearly four years.

Team Los Angeles selected former UFC and ONE Championship standout ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt as its first pick, followed by Team London who took ex-Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi. Former UFC heavyweight titleholders Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum were selected by Team Miami and Team Sao Paulo respectively while Team New York closed the opening round by selecting ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee.

Chris Weidman, who just announced his retirement from the sport earlier this month ahead of UFC 311, was picked as Team New York’s second selection.

Paige VanZant, Holly Holm, and Cat Zingano among the woman featured in Global Fight league draft

Aspen Ladd was the first female fighter selected, taken by Team Los Angeles in the second round of the draft. She was followed by Josefine Knutsson and Holly Holm who were taken as the 15th and 18th overall picks. UFC fighter turned BKFC brawler Paige VanZant and Cat Zingano were both selected by Team Miami in the later rounds.

Also selected were a slew of prospects, including atomweight standout Kayla Hracho who went a combined 5-2 during her runs under the Combate Global and iKON Fighting Federation banners.

Former flyweight champion and the winningest woman in Bellator MMA history, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane was also taken in the GFL draft. She was selected by Team Los Angeles, joining Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Penne, and Cory McKenna.

‘El Cucuy’ picked up by team los angeles

Hours after being declared for the GFL draft, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson was selected by Team Los Angeles. El Cucuy‘ closed out his 13-year-long run with the Ultimate Fighting Championship following a record-breaking eighth straight loss inside the Octagon against Michael Chiesa at a Fight Night event in August. Ferguson has not won a fight since a June 2019 TKO stoppage against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.

Check out the rosters for all six global fight league teams below:

Team Dubai

Anastasia Nikolakakos (atomweight)
Jessica Aguilar (atomweight)
Faine Mesquita (strawweight)
Randi Field (strawweight)
Alexa Conners (bantamweight)
Arlene Blencowe (bantamweight)
Farbod Iran Nezhad (bantamweight)
Timur Valiev (bantamweight)
Adilet Nurmatov (featherweight)
Khumoyun Tukhtamurodov (featherweight)
Damir Ismagulov (lightweight)
Tofiq Musayev (lightweight)
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (welterweight)
Tyron Woodley (welterweight)
Derek Brunson (middleweight)
Luke Rockhold (middleweight)
Omari Akhmedov (light heavyweight)
Ronny Markes (light heavyweight)
Ali Isaev (heavyweight)
Todd Duffee (heavyweight)

Team Los Angeles

Cory McKenna (atomweight)
Jessica Penne (atomweight)
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (strawweight)
Cynthia Calvillo (strawweight)
Aspen Ladd (bantamweight)
Leslie Smith (bantamweight)
Ray Borg (bantamweight)
Urijah Faber (bantamweight)
Chad Mendes (featherweight)
Tyler Diamond (featherweight)
Sage Northcutt (lightweight)
Tony Ferguson (lightweight)
Lorenz Larkin (welterweight)
Louis Glismann (welterweight)
Grant Neal (middleweight)
Uriah Hall (middleweight)
Da Woon Jung (light heavyweight)
Rashad Evans (light heavyweight)
Frank Mir (heavyweight)
Andrei Arlovski (heavyweight)

Team London

Chiara Penco (atomweight)
Kelly Staddon (atomweight)
Josefine Knutsson (strawweight)
Karolina Owczarz (strawweight)
Julia Budd (bantamweight)
Pannie Kianzad (bantamweight)
Cameron Else (bantamweight)
Josh Hill (bantamweight)
Brett Johns (featherweight)
Mike Grundy (featherweight)
Benson Henderson (lightweight)
Tim Wilde (lightweight)
Danny Roberts (welterweight)
Norman Parke (welterweight)
Gegard Mousasi (middleweight)
Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz (middleweight)
Alexander Gustafsson (light heavyweight)
Ilir Latifi (light heavyweight)
Stuart Austin (heavyweight)
Tanner Boser (heavyweight)

Team Miami

Kayla Hracho (atomweight)
Natasha Kuziutina (atomweight)
Hannah Goldy (strawweight)
Paige VanZant (strawweight)
Cat Zingano (bantamweight)
Mariya Agapova (bantamweight)
Eric Shelton (bantamweight)
Marlon Moraes (bantamweight)
Andre Harrison (featherweight)
Charles Rosa (featherweight)
Anthony Pettis (lightweight)
Jeremy Stephens (lightweight)
Dilano Taylor (welterweight)
Gleison Tibau (welterweight)
Hector Lombard (middleweight)
Yoel Romero (middleweight)
Philipe Lins (light heavyweight)
Thiago Santos (light heavyweight)
Robelis Despaigne (heavyweight)
Junior Dos Santos (heavyweight)

Team Sao Paulo

Joice Mara (atomweight)
Pamela Mara (atomweight)
Camila Reynoso (strawweight)
Viviane Araujo (strawweight)
Alejandra Lara (bantamweight)
Paula Bittencourt (bantamweight)
Raphael Assuncao (bantamweight)
Renan Barao (bantamweight)
Julio Arce (featherweight)
Maike Linhares (featherweight)
Patricky Freire (lightweight)
Lucas Martins (lightweight)
Alex Oliveira (welterweight)
Carlos Petruzzella (welterweight)
Alan Patrick (middleweight)
Douglas Lima (middleweight)
Antonio Carlos Junior (light heavyweight)
Mauricio Rua (light heavyweight)
Bruno Cappelozza (heavyweight)
Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight)

Team New York

Bi Nguyen (atomweight)
Marisa Messer-Belenchia (atomweight)
Melissa Amaya (strawweight)
Miao Ding (strawweight)
Holly Holm (bantamweight)
Liana Jojua (bantamweight)
Jimmie Rivera (bantamweight)
Zviad Lazishvili (bantamweight)
Lance Palmer (featherweight)
Kai Kamaka III (featherweight)
Sidney Outlaw (lightweight)
Kevin Lee (lightweight)
Neiman Gracie (welterweight)
Dillon Danis (welterweight)
Phillip Hawes (middleweight)
Chris Weidman (middleweight)
Devin Clark (light heavyweight)
Ovince Saint Preux (light heavyweight)
Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight)
Aleksei Oleinik (heavyweight)

You can watch the full GFL inaugural draft below:

Full Rosters for All 6 Global Fight League Teams Revealed!

All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season. On Friday, the promotion held its…

All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season.

Chris Weidman, who just announced his retirement from the sport earlier this month ahead of UFC 311, was picked as Team New York’s second selection.

Paige VanZant, Holly Holm, and Cat Zingano among the woman featured in Global Fight league draft

Also selected were a slew of prospects, including atomweight standout Kayla Hracho who went a combined 5-2 during her runs under the Combate Global and iKON Fighting Federation banners.

‘El Cucuy’ picked up by team los angeles

Check out the rosters for all six global fight league teams below:

Team Dubai

Anastasia Nikolakakos (atomweight)
Jessica Aguilar (atomweight)
Faine Mesquita (strawweight)
Randi Field (strawweight)
Alexa Conners (bantamweight)
Arlene Blencowe (bantamweight)
Farbod Iran Nezhad (bantamweight)
Timur Valiev (bantamweight)
Adilet Nurmatov (featherweight)
Khumoyun Tukhtamurodov (featherweight)
Damir Ismagulov (lightweight)
Tofiq Musayev (lightweight)
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (welterweight)
Tyron Woodley (welterweight)
Derek Brunson (middleweight)
Luke Rockhold (middleweight)
Omari Akhmedov (light heavyweight)
Ronny Markes (light heavyweight)
Ali Isaev (heavyweight)
Todd Duffee (heavyweight)

Team Los Angeles

Cory McKenna (atomweight)
Jessica Penne (atomweight)
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (strawweight)
Cynthia Calvillo (strawweight)
Aspen Ladd (bantamweight)
Leslie Smith (bantamweight)
Ray Borg (bantamweight)
Urijah Faber (bantamweight)
Chad Mendes (featherweight)
Tyler Diamond (featherweight)
Sage Northcutt (lightweight)
Tony Ferguson (lightweight)
Lorenz Larkin (welterweight)
Louis Glismann (welterweight)
Grant Neal (middleweight)
Uriah Hall (middleweight)
Da Woon Jung (light heavyweight)
Rashad Evans (light heavyweight)
Frank Mir (heavyweight)
Andrei Arlovski (heavyweight)

Team London

Chiara Penco (atomweight)
Kelly Staddon (atomweight)
Josefine Knutsson (strawweight)
Karolina Owczarz (strawweight)
Julia Budd (bantamweight)
Pannie Kianzad (bantamweight)
Cameron Else (bantamweight)
Josh Hill (bantamweight)
Brett Johns (featherweight)
Mike Grundy (featherweight)
Benson Henderson (lightweight)
Tim Wilde (lightweight)
Danny Roberts (welterweight)
Norman Parke (welterweight)
Gegard Mousasi (middleweight)
Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz (middleweight)
Alexander Gustafsson (light heavyweight)
Ilir Latifi (light heavyweight)
Stuart Austin (heavyweight)
Tanner Boser (heavyweight)

Team Miami

Kayla Hracho (atomweight)
Natasha Kuziutina (atomweight)
Hannah Goldy (strawweight)
Paige VanZant (strawweight)
Cat Zingano (bantamweight)
Mariya Agapova (bantamweight)
Eric Shelton (bantamweight)
Marlon Moraes (bantamweight)
Andre Harrison (featherweight)
Charles Rosa (featherweight)
Anthony Pettis (lightweight)
Jeremy Stephens (lightweight)
Dilano Taylor (welterweight)
Gleison Tibau (welterweight)
Hector Lombard (middleweight)
Yoel Romero (middleweight)
Philipe Lins (light heavyweight)
Thiago Santos (light heavyweight)
Robelis Despaigne (heavyweight)
Junior Dos Santos (heavyweight)

Team Sao Paulo

Joice Mara (atomweight)
Pamela Mara (atomweight)
Camila Reynoso (strawweight)
Viviane Araujo (strawweight)
Alejandra Lara (bantamweight)
Paula Bittencourt (bantamweight)
Raphael Assuncao (bantamweight)
Renan Barao (bantamweight)
Julio Arce (featherweight)
Maike Linhares (featherweight)
Patricky Freire (lightweight)
Lucas Martins (lightweight)
Alex Oliveira (welterweight)
Carlos Petruzzella (welterweight)
Alan Patrick (middleweight)
Douglas Lima (middleweight)
Antonio Carlos Junior (light heavyweight)
Mauricio Rua (light heavyweight)
Bruno Cappelozza (heavyweight)
Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight)

Team New York

Bi Nguyen (atomweight)
Marisa Messer-Belenchia (atomweight)
Melissa Amaya (strawweight)
Miao Ding (strawweight)
Holly Holm (bantamweight)
Liana Jojua (bantamweight)
Jimmie Rivera (bantamweight)
Zviad Lazishvili (bantamweight)
Lance Palmer (featherweight)
Kai Kamaka III (featherweight)
Sidney Outlaw (lightweight)
Kevin Lee (lightweight)
Neiman Gracie (welterweight)
Dillon Danis (welterweight)
Phillip Hawes (middleweight)
Chris Weidman (middleweight)
Devin Clark (light heavyweight)
Ovince Saint Preux (light heavyweight)
Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight)
Aleksei Oleinik (heavyweight)

You can watch the full GFL inaugural draft below:

Global Fight League Announces Signing Of Tony Ferguson After 8-Fight UFC Losing Skid

Ahead of its inaugural draft Friday, the Global Fight League (GFL) has claimed to have signed former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. In recent weeks and months, the newly created GFL — the latest attempt at making a team format successful in MMA — has announced a lengthy list of signings ahead of its […]

Ahead of its inaugural draft Friday, the Global Fight League (GFL) has claimed to have signed former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.

In recent weeks and months, the newly created GFL — the latest attempt at making a team format successful in MMA — has announced a lengthy list of signings ahead of its launch in 2025, including multiple former champions from the UFC and other promotions.

And while the inaugural draft takes place today, the organization is still rolling out some notable names.

Among its latest slew of social media announcements, the GFL posted that it has signed Ferguson, whose UFC future has been uncertain after his losing skid reached a record-breaking eight straight setbacks last year.

It’s worth noting that many names announced by the GFL have refuted their signings, insisting that they remain under contract elsewhere.

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15 GFL cards are planned up until August, after which two playoff events and one final will take place before the year’s end. The first is slated to go down in April.

The promotion’s team format will see six city teams — Los Angeles, Miami, New York, São Paulo, London and Dubai — select 20 fighters each (two per division) from a pool of over 400 fighters at Friday’s draft.

Each team has been assigned a prominent coach and team manager, with the likes of Ray Longo, Javier Mendez, and Conan Silveira confirmed as trainers and Cain Velasquez, Lyoto Machida, and Thiago Alves as managers.

Among the most notable fighter signings are former UFC champions Luke Rockhold, Tyron Woodley, Fabrício Werdum, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski and Renan Barão. That’s in addition to high-profile veterans like Alexander Gustafsson, Yoel Romero, Gegard Mousasi, Aleksei Oleinik, Paige VanZant, Kevin Lee, Thiago Santos, Jeremy Stephens, Hector Lombard and Jimmie Rivera.

The signing of 48-year-old Wanderlei Silva’s has been among the most controversial with the MMA community. “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 last year.

A number of other comebacks have also raised skeptical eyebrows, including the latest return from retirement for Brazil’s Marlon Moraes. The ex-WSOF champ most recently hung up the gloves after a brief stint in the PFL extended his losing skid to seven straight fights.

Everything You Need to Know About Global Fight League’s First-Ever Live Draft

It’s been a long and winding road for the Global Fight League, but the promotion is just hours away…

It’s been a long and winding road for the Global Fight League, but the promotion is just hours away from its first-ever live virtual draft.

Emanating from Van Wagner Studios in Phoenix, Arizona, the GFL draft on Friday, January 24 will feature hundreds of mixed martial arts, including a slew of ex-UFC champions like Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis, Benson Henderson, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Luke Rockhold, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, and Andrei Arlovski.

Also signed to the promotion are former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson, ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee, Ovince Saint Preaux, Gegard Mousasi, Hector Lombard, Uriah Hall, Jeremy Stephens, Chad Mendes, and Kai Kamaka.

The GFL draft will air live on their official platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. The event will also be available through DAZN, PPV.com, TrillerTV, and Rumble with festivities scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

GFL founder Darren Owen, Karate Combat’s Robin Black, TNT Sports reporter Caroline Pearce, CJI roaming reporter Alex Wendling, former UFC play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg, and former UFC Heavyweight Brendan Schaub will all be on hand to break down the draft as it happens.

Global Fight League will feature six teams with 20 fighters per roster

Over 420 athletes from 67 countries will be in the draft, competing for 120 coveted roster spots to enter the 2025 season. The roster spots are divided into six inaugural ‘city’ teams: Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and São Paulo. Each team will have both a manager and a coach.

Dubai is managed by Cain Velasquez and coached by Javier Mendez.
London is managed by Luke Barnatt and coached by Carl Prince.
Los Angeles is managed by Wanderlei Silva and coached by Rafael Cordeiro.
Miami is managed by Thiago Alves and coached by Conan Silveira.
New York is coached by Ray Longo with a manager TBA (rumored to be Chris Weidman).
Sao Paulo is managed by Lyoto Machida and coached by Andre Pederneiras.

Among the athletes on the GLF roster are women representing 16 different countries.

“We are proud to be the first professional sports organization where men and women compete on the same teams and share revenue streams equally,” GFL founder and commissioner Darren Owen said in a news release. “The incredible drawing power, athleticism, and competitiveness of the world’s best female fighters will be pivotal to our success. This groundbreaking approach represents a new era for MMA, where male and female athletes share equally in the league’s achievements.”

Women eligible for Friday’s draft include former UFC fighter turned BKFC brawler Paige VanZant, Julia Budd, Evelyn Martins, Tonya Evinger, Pannie Kianzad, Bi Nguyen, Hannah Goldy, Jessica Penne, Kayla Hracho, and Jessica Aguilar.

Get more info on the athletes of the Global Fight League right here.