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Ex-UFC Fighter Plans Lawsuit Against GFL for Misusing Dana White & Co.’s Superstars’ Legacy

Allan Binoy
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UFC president Dana White during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena.

The Global Fight League (GFL) was supposed to be the next big thing in MMA. The promotion was set to rival the UFC and even succeeded in signing big names like Tony Ferguson, Luke Rockhold, and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, among several other UFC legends.

It was to follow a tournament format and was divided into 6 teams, with 4 nations and 4 continents, and a total of 120 athletes in their roster. It had everything to be a promising contender for the UFC. However, according to one fighter, who was a part of this roster, it’s all fake promises.

Former UFC fighter Kevin Lee, in an interview with RJ Clifford for Sirius XM, spoke about what was going on with the league.

“We were in pretty heavy talks with GFL, they were supposed to be the new startup promotion. They were supposed to be the next big thing, and I got behind them pretty good,” he began.

 

He then revealed what went wrong: “I think they used guys like me and used our name in order to get out there and be a major face of the MMA promotion business, and nothing ever came from it.” Lee also stated that he was suing them for defamation and extortion.

But what fans can not seem to understand is why he is suing a company that he claims does not have any money. Things seem to have fallen apart with the GFL, and now all that’s left to see is if any other fighters come out and talk about it.

The organization was supposed to have its first event on May 24th, but there have been no updates from either the company or the fighter. And according to Ariel Helwani, it’s a lost case.

Helwani claims the GFL is as good as gone

Tony Ferguson was set to headline the first GFL event on May 24 as he took on Dillon Danis, with fighters like Paige VanZant also on the same card. Then, on May 25, Urijah Faber, Holly Holm, and Ray Borg were also set to make their debuts.

However, none of these fights ever took place, and fans were left wondering what was happening behind the scenes since there was no official word from the GFL.

A frustrated Ariel Helwani almost predicted that this would happen. In a video he posted back in April, he warned fans about the organization.

“It is possible GFL could still have an event, but honestly, that would be shocking to me at this point. To me, the GFL is a story that has come and gone.” Helwani even went as far as saying that the GFL may never host even one event.

And according to Helwani, this highlights the state that MMA as a business is in. He sees PFL and Bellator not being able to pay their fighters enough money, even naming One Championship on that list.

The only organization doing well for itself is the Dana White-led UFC, who have a monopoly over the entire market.

About the author

Allan Binoy

Allan Binoy

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Allan Binoy is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush. Taken to the sport in 2015, thanks to a certain Conor McGregor, Allan has himself dabbled in the martial arts. And having graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, with a degree in English Literature, he has learnt to use his love for language to have a voice in the MMA community. Allan has been writing about the gladiatorial stories for more than three years now and has pursued excellence at a number of reputable media organizations, covering every UFC PPV in the last couple of years. In addition to this, the southpaw is also a semi-professional soccer player for Diego Juniors FC in Pune, playing in the Pune Super Division League.

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