Do I Think The GFL Will Succeed? No. But Everyone Should Be Hoping It Will

Simply put, I’m not convinced yet.

The Global Fight League’s (GFL) official unveiling late last year was, charitably put, a bit of a mess. Darren Owen joined The Ariel Helwani Show in December with a stressed and bothered demeanor as he laid out the groundwork for the promotion. Or, at least a little bit of the groundwork.

GFL didn’t have any events announced, or a crucial broadcast deal, or weight classes, or info on who was bankrolling the huge endeavor. But they had other details that caught the attention of many: A team-based format that the sport hasn’t seen since the IFL in 2008, a revenue-sharing program with talent, and a commitment to signing 120 fighters for their first-ever season.

There are so many reasons to be skeptical of the GFL. How did this group, which hopes to create a product that could rival PFL or even the UFC, just pop up out of nowhere? What’s the catch? It sounded too good to be true.

However, as the weeks passed by in 2025, GFL didn’t go away. They kept signing more and more fighters, adding a collection of veterans and top regional prospects to a pool of fighters who could get drafted.

While their initial list of signings received scrutiny, as it included the addition of 48-year-old Wanderlei Silva who has spoken about having symptoms of CTE, they have pieced together a strong lineup of past UFC talents and current rising names in the sport.

Recongizable fighters on the roster include: Bruno Cappelozza, Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos, Philipe Lins, Thiago Santos, Tanner Boser, Alexander Gustafsson, Ovince St. Preux, Yoel Romero, Gegard Mousasi, Douglas Lima, Luke Rockhold, Uriah Hall, Gleison Tibau, Tyron Woodley, Alex Oliveira, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Kevin Lee, Tofiq Musayev, Brett Johns, Darron Caldwell, Chad Mendes, Pedro Carvalho, Jimmie Rivera, Matheus Nicolau, Raphael Assuncao, Ricky Bandejas, Timur Valiev, Aspen Ladd, Paige VanZant, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, and Jessica Penne.

And sticking with their commitment to hosting a draft this month, their six teams will pick their rosters as part of a webcast on Friday evening.

GFL still doesn’t have events announced or—maybe most importantly considering how the economics of sports works in 2025—a broadcast deal. But they have convinced a few hundred fighters that they are for real, many of which are coming off deals with the UFC or PFL. 

Some details, like a 50-50 revenue split with fighters, feel too good to be true. Other info, like implementing a team format in a sport that has historically been so focused on singular fighters competing outside of a season structure, makes it seem like they might have an uphill battle to attract viewers. But here’s the truth: Deep down, you have to hope that the GFL works out.

For all of the wonky or confusing details about the GFL, it’s planning to house a bigger roster than any MMA promotion in the world apart from the UFC or PFL. They want to give a home to many recognizable names, lots of whom have built full-time careers in the sport that they’d like to keep going.

PFL’s late-2023 acquisition of Bellator took a third major U.S. option for fighters off the board. It meant that, if you couldn’t garner UFC interest and didn’t fit into PFL’s somewhat rigid regular season or “Champions Series” plans, options to receive good money in the sport were all but gone for you. Having a third option available once again for fighters would be big.

At the end of the day, more fighter opportunities are undeniably good for the sport. If the GFL can provide 120 long-term spots to fighters who can make a respectable pay from their events, and be a third option for free agents to pursue alongside UFC and PFL, then it will be a positive in the sport. But despite inking all of the fighter deals, it does feel like we’re still a long way away from seeing if that will come to fruition.

Much like a U.S. president’s first 100 days, the GFL’s first 100 days will be important to watch. Will the virtual draft on Friday be presented in an interesting way and cause excitement for the project? And come April, when the promotion plans to kick off their inaugural season, what will happen?

The jury is out on whether the GFL will be a positive change in MMA. But if you’re someone who wants the sport and the fighters within it to succeed, you have to be hoping this turns out to be a success.