Global Fight League Unveils Six Inaugural City Franchises, Including New York, LA, London and Dubai
January 16, 2025
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Upstart MMA organization Global Fight League has officially announce its six initial franchise cities as the promotion gets up for its inaugural season.
The GFL has also confirmed several of the teams’ managers and coaches, as well as another batch of draft-eligible fighters, as the international team-based MMA league starts to take shape.
The first-ever GFL Draft will be held in Phoenix, Arizona on Friday, January 24, where the inaugural GFL cities will draft their respective fighter rosters for the season ahead.
And now fans know more about the cities that will form the inaugural league, as well as the managers and coaches that will run them.
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NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 26: Wanderlei Silva speaks onstage during the Bellator-DAZN announcement press conference on June 26, 2018 at Viacom in New York City. NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 26: Wanderlei Silva speaks onstage during the Bellator-DAZN announcement press conference on June 26, 2018 at Viacom in New York City. Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Bellator MMA
The United States will be represented by three cities, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, with three international cities – London, São Paulo and Dubai – joining them.
The Los Angeles team will be run by Brazilian MMA legend, UFC Hall of Famer and former PRIDE FC champion Wanderlei Silva, alongside renowned coach Rafael Cordeiro, while Team New York will be coached by Ray Longo, with their managers and coaches to be announced in due course. The Miami team will be managed by former UFC title challenger Thiago Alves and coached by American Top Team legend Conan Silveira.
London will be represented by two respected figures from the U.K. Manchester Top Team head coach Carl Prince will coach the team, while former UFC middleweight Luke Barnatt will take on the role of manager.
São Paulo will be managed by Brazilian legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and Brazilian coaching legend Andre Pederneiras, while the Dubai team will be managed by former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, and coached by American Kickboxing Academy supremo Javier Mendez.
“This league is built on respect for the sport’s history and a vision for its future,” said GFL commissioner Darren Owen.
“Our cities, managers, and coaches reflect the very best of MMA, and our draft will kick off an unforgettable first season.”
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Each city’s management and coaching team will consult on the upcoming GFL Draft on January 24, where they will compile their team rosters for the season ahead, and they’ll have another seven names to ponder as they do so, with GFL announcing the addition of a host of notable names to the draft-eligible athletes list.
They include former PRIDE Grand Prix and UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, former UFC and Bellator title challenger Yoel Romero, former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes, ex-UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao, former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima, ex-UFC light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint-Preux and former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee.
More draft-eligible athletes are expected to be added in the coming days.
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