MMA is an individual sport. But what if it wasn’t? What if MMA had a city-based franchise model like the NFL and the NBA? Well, that was the question MMA promotion, the Global Fight League, aimed to answer. Announced in 2024, the Darren Owen-led promotion promised a six-city-based format (Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Sao Paulo, Dubai, and London) with fighters getting drafted to each city.
And it did have some former UFC veterans on its roster, most notably, Tony Ferguson, who joined the GFL after being cut by the UFC in January 2025. In addition, the promotion had signed former champions like Luke Rockhold, Tyron Woodley, Fabricio Werdum, and Frank Mir on its roster. After the draft in January and the GFL’s first-ever event, its grand opening was set for April 2025 in Los Angeles, which was postponed to May.
Atop its historic opening card, Tony Ferguson was set to fight former Bellator and celebrity fighter, Dillon Danis. But alas, the promotion imploded before its first event, with the California Athletic Commission confirming in April that the GFL had cancelled its first event. The reason for the GFL’s stillbirth? Well, according to former UFC star Kevin Lee, who was also signed to the GFL, the blame lies on Dillon Danis’ shoulders.
“No, it’s not going to happen,” Lee told ‘Home of Fights’ in a recent interview when asked about the GFL. “With me signing with the PFL, I think that put the stamp on GFL. I tried to give him [GFL founder Darren Own] the best opportunity, I liked the guy, I liked what he had going. But there was some logistics that just never worked out.
“A good fight I feel like everyone wanted to see was Dillon Danis vs. Tony Ferguson,” the interviewer added.
“That’s what killed the promotion,” Lee declared. “And I told him that. I offered to fight Tony Ferguson. I thought that should have been the real fight to make. But Dillon is known for pulling out of fights; he’s known for not making fights happen. And I think that’s what ended up killing the promotion. And I tried to warn him, but some of these promoters are just not very smart.”
MMA: Bellator 198-Danis vs Walker, Apr 28, 2018 Rosemont, IL, USA Dillon Danis red gloves fights Kyle Walker blue gloves during Bellator 198 at Allstate Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports, 28.04.2018 20:14:37, 10810454, Kyle Walker, MMA, Allstate Arena PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xDavidxMandelx 10810454
Indeed, Danis did pull out of a scheduled bout against YouTuber KSI ten days before their scheduled January 2023 clash. But perhaps putting the entire blame of GFL’s death on Danis is a bit too harsh. After all, we know there were plenty of other reasons the promotion met such a sad demise.
Why Dillon Danis is not to blame for the GFL’s death
The GFL draft was a mess. With persistent technical issues, some questionable picks, and even announcements playing out of order, the fledgling promotion’s first public event was far from a success. In addition, some fighters who had been featured in the draft, like Andreas Michailidis, confirmed that they had not signed with the GFL.
In addition, a source within the CSAC told reporters in April that the GFL had been unable to secure venue insurance and or muster the funds for all the fighter purses, which once again proves just how cut-throat the MMA industry is, and how much of a monopoly the UFC has on the sport.
In boxing, for instance, KSI could launch his own promotion, ‘Misfits Boxing’, in 2022, hold reasonably well-produced and pretty entertaining cards that people pay to watch. But in MMA, even with the allure of a fresh format and reportedly north of nine figures in financial backing, it is almost impossible to even get off the ground. What do you think about Kevin Lee blaming Dillon Danis for the GFL’s implosion?
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