A few weeks ago, The Global Fight League (GFL) was introduced by founder Darren Owen on Ariel Helwani’s show. The promotion sets out to try something that’s been done before the past, but they are hoping to be the first ones to truly succeed in this venture. The venture being team-based MMA.
Owen told Helwani that the GFL will have roughly 300 fighters that are signed and then they will head to a draft. There will be six teams of 20 fighters. Ten weight classes with two fighters per weight class for each team. The first event would kick off in April with playoff events later in the year to determine the team champion. Below are some of the notable fighters that have been signed by the promotion.
As you can see from the graphic above, the promotion has signed many former UFC champions. Tyron Woodley, Fabricio Werdum, Anthony Pettis, Junior Dos Santos, Luke Rockhold, and more. While there are a lot of noteworthy names on the list, it’s worth noting that of course these aren’t fighters who are still at the top of the sport. They still have name recognition, but this isn’t the cream of the crop of MMA.
Will the GFL Work?
Of course the league is not going to obtain the best talent in the world right now. They have to start somewhere and they’ve been able to recruit a lot of fighters who despite being far beyond their primes, they still have name recognition and that’s valuable for a startup promotion.
One thing the promotion aims to do is have a 50/50 revenue split with the fighters as well as provide benefits. They are hoping to recruit higher level fighters with the way they run their business. PFL has done similar things as they’ve tried to acquire more talent to compete with the powerhouse UFC.
The question then becomes, will this work? Years ago, the IFL had a ton of financial backing and while the fighters loved the team aspect, the promotion ultimately flamed out. Why did it flame out? It flamed out because the team aspect just hasn’t caught on with MMA much like the regular season format hasn’t caught on.
The PFL made a name for themselves being different with their season format. However, now that they’ve established themselves and grown their talent base through their Bellator acquisition, I’ve been vocal that I’d love to see them go to more of a traditional format. With a season format, there are too many variables and road blocks that could prevent the best possible fights from happening.
With the GFL, they might have a little more luck with this because they can pick and choose the team matchups, but I’m still not convinced this will work. I respect that they are trying to be different, but at the end of the day, fans want to see the best fight the best. You aren’t guaranteed that with team and season formats.
I’m going to follow their draft and their season and watch with an open mind. I think it’s very respectable that they’ve signed the names they have, but until the day we see a team or season format truly compete from a ratings perspective with the UFC, I’ll never be convinced that it’ll work long-term.