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Global Fight League Reveals Signings Ahead Of 2025 Launch: Includes Woodley, Rockhold, Gustafsson, Mir

The newly created Global Fight League (GFL) has announced a lengthy list of signings ahead of its launch in 2025, including multiple former champions from the UFC and other organizations. After years of preparation, the GFL is set to stage events for the first time next April, as the promotion looks to succeed in the […]

The newly created Global Fight League (GFL) has announced a lengthy list of signings ahead of its launch in 2025, including multiple former champions from the UFC and other organizations.

After years of preparation, the GFL is set to stage events for the first time next April, as the promotion looks to succeed in the fight game with a team-based format and season structure.

15 cards are planned up until August, after which two playoff events and one final will take place before the year’s end. GFL founder Darren Owen outlined that and more during an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned.

Perhaps most notably, he revealed some of the major names who have put pen to paper on deals with the GFL and will be in the mix for the inaugural draft on Jan. 24, when six city teams will select 20 fighters (two in each of the 10 divisions) from a pool of 300 athletes.

Among them are former UFC champions Luke Rockhold, Tyron Woodley, Fabrício Werdum, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and Renan Barão, in addition to high-profile veterans like Alexander Gustafsson, Gegard Mousasi, Aleksei Oleinik, Kevin Lee, Thiago Santos, Jeremy Stephens, Hector Lombard and Jimmie Rivera.

48-year-old legend Wanderlei Silva’s inclusion marks one of many concerns highlighted by the MMA community. This year, “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.

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

For the full list of names confirmed by Owen and those on the GFL website, see below:

Heavyweight (265lbs)

Alan Belcher (18-8)
Aleksandr Maslov (11-1)
Aleksei Oleinik (61-18-1)
Andrei Arlovski (34-24)
Fabrício Werdum (24-9)
Frank Mir (16-11)
Greg Hardy (7-5)
Guto Inocente (11-6)*
Junior dos Santos (21-10)
Oli Thompson (18-9)
Philipe Lins (18-5)
Robelis Despaigne (5-2)
Roggers Souza (15-8)
Stuart Austin (18-9)
Tanner Boser (21-10)

Light Heavyweight (225lbs)

Alexander Gustafsson (18-8)
Cleiton Silva (16-4)
Emiliano Sordi (23-10)
Ilir Latifi (16-9, 1 NC)*
Rafael Carvalho (17-8)
Thiago Santos (22-13, 1 NC)*

Middleweight (200lbs)

Gegard Mousasi (49-9)
Chauncey Foxworth (19-10)
Glaico Franca (23-8)
Hector Lombard (34-10)
Jozef Wittner (16-4)
Kyle Daukaus (15-4)
Luke Rockhold (16-6)
Markus Perez (14-6)
Phil Hawes (15-4)
Wanderlei Silva (35-14)

Wanderlei Silva — Image: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Welterweight (180lbs)

Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-4)
Austin Tweedy (11-4)
Benson Henderson (30-12)
Dominick Meriweather (8-1)
Francisco Trinaldo (32-14)
Jordan Mein (31-14)
Julio Spadaccini (8-3)
Michael Irizarry (14-5)
Rousimar Palhares (19-11-1)
Ruan Machado (7-2)
Tyron Woodley (19-7)

Lightweight (165lbs)

Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev (11-4)
Anthony Pettis (25-14)
Ayinda Octave (5-0)
Ayton De Paepe (12-4)
Charles Rosa (14-8)
Feruz Usmonov (4-1)
Gabriel Souza Galindo (9-1)*
Jefferson Pontes (6-1)
Jeremy Stephens (29-21)
John Makdessi (18-9)
Kevin Lee (20-8)
Killys motta (15-4)
Lucas Martins (22-7)
Mohamed Tarek Mohey (9-4)
Oscar Ownsworth (8-3)
Raimundo Batista (18-3)
Sidney Outlaw (19-6)
Stephen Beaumont (11-3)
Will Brooks (26-5)
William Lima (6-3)
Yan Cabral (15-3)

Featherweight (155lbs)

Alexsandro Cangaty (10-4)
Andre Harrison (22-3-1)
Claudeci Brito (11-4)
Deberson Batista (12-4)
Lance Palmer (22-5)
Lucas Martins (22-7)*
Marcel Adur (16-5)
Marcelo Dias (14-6)
Marlon Moraes (23-13)
Patrizio de Souza (18-6)
Renan Oliveira (11-2)

Bantamweight (145lbs)

Andre Soukhamthath (14-10)*
Andre Harrison (22-3-1)*
Bubba Jenkins (21-9)*
Cameron Else (11-6)*
Denis Palancica (10-1)
Diego Teixeira (7-4)
Jimmie Rivera (23-5)
Marciano Ferreira (13-3)
Omar Arteaga (11-1)
Pedro Carvalho (13-10)*
Renan Barão (34-0)

Women’s Bantamweight (140lbs)

Alexa Conners (8-5)
Kalindra Faria (19-10-1)
Pannie Kianzad (16-9)
Tonya Evinger (19-8-1)

Women’s Flyweight (130lbs)

Chiara Penco (9-5)
Karolina Owczarz (5-3)*
Miao Ding (18-8)

Women’s Strawweight (120lbs)

Bi Nguyen (6-9)
Silvania Monteiro (11-4)

*Fighter’s weight class for the 2025 draft not yet disclosed on the GFL website

While the chances of a team-based format succeeding in MMA have been doubted by plenty of analysts in the media space, Owen explained to Helwani why he’s confident of it working.

“We’re able to create unique storylines that have never existed in the sport,” Owen said. “That’s one thing we keep hearing. Everyone loves the sport of MMA but the storylines are often not there. What this brings is the talking points, the, ‘OK, are these two fighters going to be teammates or are they going to be potentially fighting?’ And different strategies that come in, different betting elements that come in.

“The No. 1 driver in sports fandom proven is cheering for your favorite team. Favorite teams have never really existed in the sport of MMA. So we’re just creating what already exists and you see it across all the major professional leagues in the world, and this is just the implementation of that team-based league model for the third most popular sport in the world.”

Fighter contracts with the GFL will be exclusive and include a rare 50/50 revenue split. The promotion is also promising to contribute eight percent of each athlete’s purse into a retirement fund and two toward insurance.

“Whatever revenue we receive, whether it’s media rights deals, sponsorships, ticket sales, all of that, 50% goes into the fighter revenue pool from that specific event and then those fighters that are on that event are the ones who share in that revenue percentage.

“Athletes get paid either or — whatever is greater — their guaranteed amount or their revenue share percentage. So someone might have a $50,000 guaranteed purse and they earn 1% revenue share, but if there’s $10 million in that revenue pool for that event, then they’re going to receive $100,000 instead of what they were thinking was $50,000.”

A lot seemingly still needs to come together before the GFL’s launch in 2025, including a broadcast deal before events are staged in April.

Owen confirmed talks are set to take place regarding that in January, and if no agreement is made with an outside entity, he told Helwani the organization is prepared to create its own platform to stream on.

Former UFC Champion Wants To Fight ‘Fake’ Israel Adesanya If He Ever Returns

In 2021, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley departed the UFC to explore the next phase of his career. Four consecutive losses inside the Octagon brought an end to his 16-fight run with the promotion which saw him win the title at 170-pounds and record three title defenses, four if you count the draw in […]

“The Chosen One” then went into boxing where he became the second major name from MMA to face Jake Paul in the ring. After losing a split decision in their first encounter, he was then knocked out in a rematch in December of 2018.

Woodley has not returned to competition since then but he has spoken about substantial offers that he has regularly received to dust off the gloves for one last dance. In a recent interview with Plejmo, the former champion spoke about who he would want to share the Octagon with if he did ever make a return to the UFC.

The 42-year old said that there’s one current star in the promotion in particular who is in and around his weight class that he would like to lock horns with. Woodley went on to voice his opinions regarding the former two-time UFC champion Israel Adesanya who he believes is “fake”.

“I never thought about going back, but now when I look at the UFC, there’s not that many stars. Alex Pereira is a beast. He’s a big-ass 205 pounder, so I can’t see myself getting in there with him. Israel Adesanya is a fighter I would definitely fight. I’m not a huge fan of his. I just don’t like people that are just fake. He was conveniently African. Before that he was UK. Before then, he was like an avatar breakdancing guy. The UFC needs some star power in there. There’s a lot of fighters that are kind of in my class of fighting that’s still fighting in the UFC. Some of those fights would be kind of cool.”

Tyron Woodley Claims Georges St-Pierre Turned Down Up To $7 Million To Fight Him Last Year

From July of 2016 to March in 2019, Tyron Woodley reigned as the UFC welterweight champion and defended the title three times. After a draw in his first defense against Stephen Thompson, “The Chosen One” would go on to beat Thompson in a rematch followed by victories over Demian Maia and Darren Till. Despite the […]

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Claims Georges St-Pierre Turned Down Up To $7 Million To Fight Him Last Year at MMA News.

Despite the seven-fight unbeaten streak that he went on, Woodley never felt like he got the credit or respect that he deserved from the fans or even from the UFC at points. His fighting style didn’t make for the most exciting watches but it was undeniably effective at shutting opponents down.

One fight that would have instantly legitimatized his run as the champion was a super fight that despite it being spoken about a lot, never did materialize. In November of 2017, several months after Woodley’s decision win over Maia, the former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre made his return to the Octagon to face Michael Bisping for the middleweight belt at UFC 217.

After beating Bisping at Madison Square Garden, the greatest welterweight of all time decided to vacate the title and go back into retirement, closing this chapter of his life for good.

Woodley was outspoken about St-Pierre returning at the weight class above at the time and in a recent interview, said that “GSP” has turned down fights with him on several occasions. He told Plejmo.com in a recent interview that over the past few years, there have been multiple offers on the table that St-Pierre has declined.

“Georges St-Pierre never wanted to fight me, I’ve asked Georges to fight me several times. I had an opportunity to fight him last year and the year before. It was a five to seven million dollar purse and he said no. In MMA. My middle east investor wanted the fight, seven million, but he said no. I would have beat his brains in. “

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Claims Georges St-Pierre Turned Down Up To $7 Million To Fight Him Last Year at MMA News.

Tyron Woodley Reveals How Nate Diaz Backtrack Led to Dana White Feud

Tyron Woodley recently opened up about how the fallout over a proposed fight with Nate Diaz sparked tension between him and Dana White. “The Chosen One” has always had a rocky relationship with the UFC CEO, with both men frequently exchanging sharp words about one another. Following Woodley’s one-sided defeat to Kamaru Usman at UFC […]

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Reveals How Nate Diaz Backtrack Led to Dana White Feud at MMA News.

Tyron Woodley recently opened up about how the fallout over a proposed fight with Nate Diaz sparked tension between him and Dana White.

“The Chosen One” has always had a rocky relationship with the UFC CEO, with both men frequently exchanging sharp words about one another. Following Woodley’s one-sided defeat to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235, White didn’t hold back, openly criticizing the 42-year-old former welterweight champion for his fighting style.

White was one of Woodley’s harshest critics, even after his victory over Demian Maia at UFC 214. The UFC head honcho chastised the Missouri native for what he perceived as a lackluster striking performance, ultimately costing Woodley the chance to fight Georges St-Pierre. In response, Woodley publicly fired back at White, demanding a public apology for the harsh treatment.

The tension between the two became even more evident when White publicly dismissed any rumors that a Woodley vs. Nate Diaz fight was ever planned for UFC 219 in December 2017—a matchup that “The Chosen One” had previously claimed was on the table…

Woodley Opens Up About Diss Track On White After Diaz Fight Fallout: ‘That Was My Way Of Expressing Myself’

During a recent appearance on the Overdogs Podcast, Woodley shared the backstory of his frustration. After his victory over Maia, White and Hunter Campbell approached him with the idea of defending his title against Diaz, who was then competing in the lightweight division. Despite suffering a torn labrum in the previous bout, Woodley agreed to the challenge.

However, when Woodley publicly announced the fight in an interview, he was met with a fiery denial from White, who swiftly dismissed the matchup. The UFC CEO’s abrupt U-turn left “The Chosen One” so infuriated that he chaneled his anger into creating a diss track aimed at White.

“Why the f**k would you make me look stupid on air when you just asked me to fight this dude?” Woodley said. “Then I was so mad, but I recognized I don’t own the UFC—this is their promotion, they do what the f**k they want to do. I’m thankful and I’m blessed that I can go out there and show I’m the best. So, I couldn’t beat his a, but I surely went into the studio and made a song called ‘I Beat Your A**.’ When I made that song ‘I Beat Your A**,’ the story behind that song—it was really for Dana because I wanted to beat his a**.”

“I wrote that song because that was my way of expressing myself. At that time, when I tried to speak on it, Fox would cut me off—they cut my microphone. They told me, ‘You can’t speak on this.’ Because after he made that statement, I was prepared to go back to work and defend my motherf**kin’ self.”

Woodley parted ways with the UFC in March 2021 after enduring a tough stretch of four consecutive losses from 2019 to 2021. Before this challenging period, he was riding high on a seven-fight unbeaten streak, during which he successfully defended the welterweight title four times.

Read More: Tyron Woodley Names The Only YouTube-Boxer That ‘Daddy’ Dana White May Allow Conor McGregor To Fight

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Reveals How Nate Diaz Backtrack Led to Dana White Feud at MMA News.

Tyron Woodley Gives Former Opponent Jake Paul ‘Props’ After Mike Perry Win, Defends Him Against Claims Of Fatigue

Jake Paul put on a thoroughly dominant display in his boxing matchup with Mike Perry on Saturday, overwhelming the BKFC star en route to a sixth-round knockout win. The victory marked the fifth former UFC star whom Paul has stood victorious over in the boxing ring, with previous wins over Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Ben […]

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Gives Former Opponent Jake Paul ‘Props’ After Mike Perry Win, Defends Him Against Claims Of Fatigue at MMA News.

Jake Paul put on a thoroughly dominant display in his boxing matchup with Mike Perry on Saturday, overwhelming the BKFC star en route to a sixth-round knockout win.

The victory marked the fifth former UFC star whom Paul has stood victorious over in the boxing ring, with previous wins over Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley (twice).

Woodley was, in fact, on color commentary for the Paul vs. Perry DAZN broadcast, and he was willing to tip his cap to his former foe.

“You got to kind of give Jake his props, man,” Woodley told The Schmo in a post-fight interview. “You can be a hater all you want, but he was punching the dude high, low. He was throwing power with both hands, variety.”

Tyron Woodley Explains What Makes For Good Cardio While Defending Jake Paul Against Critics

Paul dropped Perry once each during the opening two rounds. Despite this, “Platinum” continued to go through the former Disney star’s punches and fire away, trying to make use of his well-known and entertaining brawling style. “The Problem Child,” however, continued to land damaging shots, and Perry was dropped for a third time during the sixth round.

Perry stumbled while returning to his feet, prompting the referee to call the fight in Paul’s favor.

One notable thing that critics got on Paul for was his heavy breathing during the fight, as the Cleveland native seemed to be winded after his bashing of Perry for two rounds.

Woodley, however, pointed out that Paul recovered and got the knockout eventually — and that’s what cardio is about, not a lack of breathing hard.

“Everybody thinks you’re supposed to have the cardio where you never breathe hard,” Woodley said. “When you’re punching that hard, it’s not about breathing hard, it’s about recovering. He showed he can recover and go back to the power.”

Read More: UFC Fight Night Results & Highlights: Virna Jandiroba Submits Amanda Lemos

Continue Reading Tyron Woodley Gives Former Opponent Jake Paul ‘Props’ After Mike Perry Win, Defends Him Against Claims Of Fatigue at MMA News.

Ex-UFC star Tyron Woodley plans MMA return, blames Apex for losing skid: ‘It was just like a simulation’

Former undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley has confirmed he is planning a return to mixed martial arts competition…

Former undisputed UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley has confirmed he is planning a return to mixed martial arts competition following his brief stint in professional boxing, and blames his losing streak before his Octagon departure on a lack of atmosphere whilst fighting at the promotion’s Apex facility.

Woodley, a former dominant undisputed welterweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined from mixed martial arts since dropping a Brabo choke loss to Vicente Luque back in 2021, fighting out his contract with the organization in the process.

The defeat came as St. Louis native, Woodley’s fourth consecutively, following a string of defeats to former champion, Kamaru Usman, as well as Gilbert Burns and former interim gold holder, Colby Covington.

Tyron Woodley Kickboxing — Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

Making a brief switch to professional boxing in the time since, Woodley first went the distance with the outspoken, Jake Paul, before dropping a devastating knockout loss to the social media star in a short-notice immediate rematch.

Tyron Woodley confirms plan for MMA comeback

And confirming plans to make good on a comeback to mixed martial arts, Woodley revealed he wants to return in an event in the Middle East, after citing a “simulation”-like feel to his trio of bouts in the UFC Apex facility.

“To be honest, when I was fighting my last couple MMA fights it was just kind of like a simulation,” Tyron Woodley told Title Sports Network. “The whole Apex arena deal is kind of wack. It’s like a sparring session, I don’t let people come watch me spar. I don’t like it, being in a weird awkward room. The cage was super small, and I just really wasn’t motivated to be in a fight, especially at the time.”

“Those fights to me are like exhibition fights,” Tyron Woodley explained. “I do think the fans deserve to see me go out there, see me run through somebody, see the Tyron Woodley that they know I’m capable of being and put a proper close to my MMA career. So I’m planning for a big, big MMA fight – possibly in the Middle East.”

Who would you like to see Tyron Woodley fight in his return to MMA?