The Global Fight League (GFL) had their big draft event on Friday night (Jan. 24th, 2025) where 120 fighters were pulled from a pool of 500 fighters to compete on various city-based teams.
The event wasn’t without its hiccups — results of the ‘live’ draft were accidentally flashed on screen moments after the video stream started — and it certainly gave MMA fans a lot to talk about with it’s A.I. intro and theme song. But if the league goes off as planned, a lot of fan-favorite fighters will get a chance to make some decent money before riding off into the sunset.
That kind of leads us to the big question fans have been asking about the GFL since it’s big rebrand and relaunch: where is the money coming from to host this first season, and how legit are all the signing the league has announced over the past month and a half?
While some fighters like Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis, and Paige VanZant confirmed their involvement and said they’ve successfully cashed big checks from the organization, a few have said they were shocked to see themselves listed as ‘draft eligible’ GFL fighters.
Surely the organization wouldn’t go so far as to draft fighters without a solid agreement? According to former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, that’s what they did with him.
Evans was one of two 205-pounders that were drafted to the Los Angeles team roster, something that surprised Quinton “Rampage” Jackson since he’s been working to set up a boxing match with Evans in 2025.
I’m NOT!! Let me be clear! The only commitment I have is to lay yo ass out in April!! I was added to this without my consent!! You ain’t off the hook that easy!
— Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) January 25, 2025
“I don’t know how Rashad is on here when I’m scheduled to beat his ass in April,” Jackson wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“I’m NOT!!” Evans replied. “Let me be clear! The only commitment I have is to lay yo ass out in April!! I was added to this without my consent!! You ain’t off the hook that easy!”
Since that tweet, Evans was removed from the GFL’s Los Angeles team roster. Will more follow him? The season is set to start in April, although no specific dates or locations have been shared so far. Hopefully we’ll have more concrete news to share regarding GFL in the coming days, rather than more drama from fighters surprised about their involvement.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
