When the Global Fight League (GFL) was announced in 2024, many people were doubtful. This was mainly because a similar idea for a team-based MMA league had been announced a few years prior but never actually happened. Also, the GFL was signing a lot of well-known fighters.
Back in 2021, Darren Owen, who used to work for World Series of Fighting, talked about starting a team-format league called the WFL. Nothing ever came of it. Then, in 2024, Owen came back with a very similar plan for the GFL. This time, he signed many fighters, including former UFC champions like Tyron Woodley, Luke Rockhold, and Chris Weidman.
However, shortly after announcing two launch events in Los Angeles, the GFL cancelled them. This made people seriously wonder if the new promotion would ever really get started.
“It’s disappointing,” said retired UFC fighter Matt Brown on The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast. “It feels like we’ve seen this happen before. We know how this story goes.”
Unfortunately, many MMA promotions have failed over the years. The GFL didn’t even manage to hold its first event before cancelling its initial shows.
Darren Owen stated that he is still looking for funding to launch the GFL in 2025. However, many fighters who were involved with the promotion seem to have already moved on.
Paige VanZant announced on Instagram that she is a “free agent.” Alan Belcher, another former UFC fighter and ex-BKFC champion, said that the GFL promised him a fight but only if he agreed to a “revenue share” deal instead of a guaranteed payment.
“What a mess,” Brown said about the GFL situation. “It’s too bad because we need more promotions in MMA. We need more competition. Someone needs to step up, but it’s a very difficult business. I’m not sure if it will ever really work, or at least not easily. It doesn’t look promising at all.”
Brown added, “I don’t understand how they get investors for this. If you`re starting a business and need investment, you usually show some proof that your idea can work. You do market research and things like that. Are investors even paying attention? This kind of thing happens all the time. We`ve seen this movie before.”
The promised payouts for GFL fighters were never publicly reported, but several fighters mentioned very high potential earnings. This may be one reason why so many big names signed with the promotion before any events took place.
Brown understands why fighters might take a chance on a promotion like GFL, especially with limited options outside of the UFC. However, he always had doubts and questions why managers representing these fighters didn`t do more research before agreeing to deals.
“I don’t know how anyone fell for it,” Brown said. “Hopefully, they can figure something out. There’s not much more to say. We’ve seen this same situation so many times, and we just hope the fighters understand what it really was.”
“If they didn’t see it coming, it’s probably because of their bad managers. The managers in this sport are often the biggest problem in situations like this.”
Brown acknowledges that there are “good people” who are managers in MMA. However, after 15 years in the UFC, he has also seen the negative side of fighter management.
Brown recognizes he was lucky to spend most of his career in the UFC. He knows this is not the reality for many fighters. That’s why he hopes other promotions like PFL can succeed in the long run, but he also thinks the UFC might become the only major promotion eventually.
“I wish someone could make it work,” Brown said about starting a successful competing MMA promotion. “It’s a tough business. But someone needs to do it.”
“You have to give credit to Dana White and the UFC. They basically took over the sport and built it into a powerhouse from almost nothing. Now, there isn’t much room for other promotions. The UFC is just too dominant.”
