Title: Unveiling the Picks: Every Contender Selected for the New MMA League
The kickoff of the Global Fight League (GFL) draft unfolded virtually on January 24, with numerous UFC, Bellator, and Professional Fighters League (PFL) veterans making it onto the six MMA teams. With action commencing in April and the season running for six months, these monthly events will culminate in the playoffs and finals. A total of 120 draft picks were made, with the teams being London, Sao Paulo, New York, Dubai, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Dubai secured Tyron Woodley as the No. 1 overall selection. The drafting process was conducted using a serpentine format, and many fighters found themselves in regions comparable to where they train or live.
Let's delve into the draft picks for each team:
London
- Chiara Penco (Women’s Atomweight)
- Kelly Staddon (Women’s Atomweight)
- Josefine Knutsson (Women’s Strawweight)
- Karolina Owczarz (Women’s Strawweight)
- Julia Budd (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Pannie Kianzad (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Cameron Else (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Josh Hill (Men’s 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 (Light Heavyweight)
Los Angeles
- Cory McKenna (Women’s Atomweight)
- Jessica Penne (Women’s Atomweight)
- Ilimia-Lei MacFarlane (Women’s Atomweight)
- Cynthia Calvillo (Women’s Strawweight)
- Aspen Ladd (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Leslie Smith (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Ray Borg (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Urijah Faber (Men’s 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)
Dubai
- Anastasia Nikolakakos (Women’s Atomweight)
- Jessica Aguilar (Women’s Atomweight)
- Faine Mesquita (Women’s Strawweight)
- Randi Field (Women’s Strawweight)
- Alex Conners (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Arlene Blencowe (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Farboo Iran Nezhad (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Timur Valiev (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Aoilet 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)
Miami
- Kayla Hracho (Women’s Atomweight)
- Natasha Kuziutina (Women’s Atomweight)
- Hannah Goldy (Women’s Strawweight)
- Paige VanZant (Women’s Strawweight)
- Cat Zingano (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Mariya Agapova (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Eric Shelton (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Marlon Moraes (Men’s 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)
Sao Paulo
- Joice Mara (Women’s Atomweight)
- Pamela Mara (Women’s Atomweight)
- Camila Reynoso (Women’s Atomweight)
- Viviane Pereira (Women’s Strawweight)
- Alejandra Lara (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Paula Bittencourt (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Raphael Assuncao (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Renan Barao (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Julio Arce (Featherweight)
- Maike Linhares (Featherweight)
- Patricky Pitbull (Lightweight)
- Lucas Martins (Lightweight)
- Alex Oliveira (Welterweight)
- Carlos Petruzzella (Welterweight)
- Alan Patrick (Middleweight)
- Douglas Lima (Middleweight)
- Antonio Carlos Jr. (Light Heavyweight)
- Maurico Rua (Light Heavyweight)
- Bruno Cappelozza (Heavyweight)
- Fabricio Werdum (Heavyweight)
New York
- Bi Nguyen (Women’s Atomweight)
- Marisa Messer-Belenchia (Women’s Atomweight)
- Melissa Amaya (Women’s Strawweight)
- Miao Ding (Women’s Strawweight)
- Holly Holm (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Liana Jojua (Women’s Bantamweight)
- Jimmie Rivera (Men’s Bantamweight)
- Zviad Lazishvili (Men’s 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)
- Alan Belcher (Heavyweight)
- Aleksei Oleynik (Heavyweight)
The GFL draft wasn't flawless, with some errors such as leaks and misspellings, as well as inconsistent commentary from UFC legend Mike Goldberg. Regardless, the intrigue surrounding the GFL likely escalated after the virtual draft show. The inclusion of renowned figures like Tyron Woodley, Gegard Mousasi, Benson Henderson, Junior dos Santos, and Fabricio Werdum adds to the League's appeal.
[1] https://www.rdxsports.com/news/global-fight-league-draft-announced/[2] https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/1/24/21112395/fight-announcement-global-fight-league-drafts-120-fighters-for-inaugural-season
Who's in the GFL's Sao Paulo team that includes UFC champions like Fabricio Werdum and Junior dos Santos?The GFL draft saw some errors and inconsistent commentary from UFC legend Mike Goldberg, but the virtual event increased the intrigue surrounding the League due to the inclusion of fighters like Tyron Woodley and Gegard Mousasi.UFC champion Tyron Woodley was the top pick for the Dubai team in the GFL draft.Pitbull is part of the Sao Paulo team in the Global Fight League, adding to the League's appeal.
