Andre Soukhamthath – Syndication Server

Global Fight League announces launch, roster includes giant list of former UFC fighters

GFL has arrived – and it’s bringing fairly massive names from UFC yesteryears with it.

A new player has entered the MMA landscape, and it has arrived with some big names.

Wednesday, Global Fight League (GFL) announced its official launch will come in the opening weeks of 2025. The GFL concept differs from that of UFC and PFL.

While it has a league format and playoffs, it is also team-based and has a draft. There will be six franchises (names and cities to follow). The draft is scheduled for Jan. 24, with an inaugural event to follow in April.

Who’s fighting?

Co-founder Darren Owen revealed on “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Wednesday that the promotion has over 300 fighters under contract. Not all fighters will be drafted.

Of the 92 fighters posted to the promotion’s official website, 45 of them are former UFC fighters. Names include Tyron Woodley, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Gegard Mousasi, Wanderlei Silva, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski, Kevin Lee, Fabricio Werdum, and Junior Dos Santos among others.

Scroll below to see the released names:

[autotag]Marcel Adur[/autotag]
[autotag]Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev[/autotag]
[autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]
[autotag]Omar Arteaga[/autotag]
[autotag]Stuart Austin[/autotag]
[autotag]Renan Barao[/autotag]
[autotag]Deberson Batista[/autotag]
[autotag]Raimundo Batista[/autotag]
[autotag]Stephen Beaumont[/autotag]
[autotag]Alan Belcher[/autotag]
[autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag]
[autotag]Claudeci Brito[/autotag]
[autotag]Will Brooks[/autotag]
[autotag]Yan Cabral[/autotag]
[autotag]Alexsandro Cangaty[/autotag]
[autotag]Pedro Carvalho[/autotag]
[autotag]Rafael Carvalho[/autotag]
[autotag]Alexa Conners[/autotag]
[autotag]Kyle Daukaus[/autotag]
[autotag]Ayton de Paepe[/autotag]
[autotag]Patrizio de Souza[/autotag]
[autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]
[autotag]Marcelo Dias[/autotag]
[autotag]Miao Ding[/autotag]
[autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag]
[autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag]
[autotag]Tonya Evinger[/autotag]
[autotag]Kalindra Faria[/autotag]
[autotag]Marciano Ferreira[/autotag]
[autotag]Chauncey Foxworth[/autotag]
[autotag]Glaico Franca[/autotag]
[autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag]
[autotag]Greg Hardy[/autotag]
[autotag]Andre Harrison[/autotag]
[autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag]
[autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]
[autotag]Guto Inocente[/autotag]
[autotag]Michael Irizarry[/autotag]
[autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag]
[autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
[autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]
[autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag]
[autotag]William Lima[/autotag]
[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]
[autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag]
[autotag]Ruan Machado[/autotag]
[autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag]
[autotag]Lucas Martins[/autotag]
[autotag]Aleksandr Maslov[/autotag]
[autotag]Jordan Mein[/autotag]
[autotag]Dominick Meriweather[/autotag]
[autotag]Frank Mir[/autotag]
[autotag]Silvania Monteiro[/autotag]
[autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag]
[autotag]Killys Motta[/autotag]
[autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag]
[autotag]Bi Nguyen[/autotag]
[autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]
[autotag]Ayinda Octave[/autotag]
[autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag]
[autotag]Renan Oliveira[/autotag]
[autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag]
[autotag]Karolina Owczarz[/autotag]
[autotag]Oscar Ownsworth[/autotag]
[autotag]Denis Palancica[/autotag]
[autotag]Rousimar Palharaes[/autotag]
[autotag]Lance Palmer[/autotag]
[autotag]Chiara Penco[/autotag]
[autotag]Markus Perez[/autotag]
[autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag]
[autotag]Jefferson Pontes[/autotag]
[autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag]
[autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag]
[autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag]
[autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag]
[autotag]Cleiton Silva[/autotag]
[autotag]Wanderlei Silva[/autotag]
[autotag]Emiliano Sordi[/autotag]
[autotag]Julio Spadaccini[/autotag]
[autotag]Andre Soukhamthath[/autotag]
[autotag]Roggers Souza[/autotag]
[autotag]Gabriel Souza Galindo[/autotag]
[autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag]
[autotag]Mohamed Tarek Mohey[/autotag]
[autotag]Diego Teixeira[/autotag]
[autotag]Oli Thompson[/autotag]
[autotag]Francisco Trinaldo[/autotag]
[autotag]Austin Tweedy[/autotag]
[autotag]Feruz Usmonov[/autotag]
[autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
[autotag]Jozef Wittner[/autotag]
[autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag]

What does GFL provide athletes that other promotions don’t?

According to Owen, GFL offers fighters a 50-50 split in revenue sharing. Additionally, the promotion provides comprehensive support for training and medical bills, retirement benefits, insurance coverage, and more.

Who is behind GFL and where is the money coming from?

Owen is listed as the co-founder and commissioner for GFL and serves essentially as the public face for the promotion. He served as COO of PFL vs. October 2015 to May 2020 and was the founder and CEO of World Series of Fighting Canada, according to his LinkedIn page.

Also listed on the promotion’s website are Arun Parimi (co-founder and COO), Scott Parker (CMO), and Jeffrey Pollack (senior advisor).

Owen declined to identify the source of the funds behind the operation, but did say it’s a silicon valley investor.

How does the regular season work?

Similarly to PFL, GFL has a point system for regular season fights.

A finish victory notches a fighter’s team four points. A decision win earns three points. A draw earns two points. A decision loss earns one point. If a fighter loses by finish, he or she walks away with zero points.

Farewell, fighters: A list of former UFC champs and more MMA notables who retired in 2022

The MMA world said goodbye to more than 35 notable fighters in 2022, from former UFC champions to future UFC Hall of Famers and more.

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently fighters from the era that helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves to move on to the next chapters in their lives.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete and, perhaps more importantly, get a payday will continue to drive fighters back, even well beyond their expiration dates.

In 2022, there was an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are retired, and we have a list of those who opted to walk away last year.

Andre Soukhamthath using platform to combat anti-Asian violence: ‘I didn’t start a family for this sh*t’

One of the only Asian-American fighters in UFC history, Andre Soukhamthath felt obliged to speak out.

[autotag]Andre Soukhamthath[/autotag] has absorbed racist comments his whole life, but it’s not the words that bother him as much as the violent attacks against Asians and Asian-Americans.

The first American-Lao fighter in UFC history, Soukhamthath (14-8) now competes for XFC and headlines XFC 44 on Friday against Jose Quinonez in a bantamweight bout.

Soukhamthath is one of the most accomplished Asian-American mixed martial artists competing today, and he hopes to use his platform to speak out against the rise in instances of violence against Asians since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year.

“Everyone now is just seeing the prejudice and racism that people who look like me experience,” Soukhamthath recently told MMA Junkie. “Now that the coronavirus happened, people are looking at Asians in a totally different way. It’s kind of like (they think) we’re bringing the virus here. There is a lot of violence going on against random Asian people. What’s sad is that it’s Asian people that can’t defend themselves – older people getting robbed, little kids getting injured. That’s making it worse for my kids when they grow up. That’s what I think of, my kids and my nieces and my friends’ kids.”

Soukhamthath, 32, grew up in Woonsocket, R.I.. As the only Asian basketball player in his league, Soukhamthath heard the racial trash talk often. It hurt initially, but he eventually became desensitized.

“When I went into some of these more rural areas, man, all I ever heard was, ‘Ching-chong this, ching-chong, that,'” Soukhamthath said. “People would do the slanted-eye thing to me right in my face. I wanted to cry right then and there, but no. I kept playing the game. That’s what I grew up with. Literally 18 years of my life playing sports, that’s what I had to face. I don’t want my kids to go through that. I don’t want the next generation to go through it. My parents didn’t move here for this sh*t. I didn’t start a family for this sh*t. You know what I mean?”

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After two Asian women were attacked with a hammer in New York City this month, USA TODAY reported that recent studies show a 164 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the first quarter of 2021. Earlier this year, president Joe Biden signed The COVID Hate Crimes Act to combat violence.

While he’s not a politician, Soukhamthath thinks he can still make a difference as a professional athlete who often gets to speak into a microphone in front of an audience. Soukhamthath said it’s always been his goal to inspire those like him. The recent violence has simply catalyzed his passion even more.

“I’m going to keep on using my platform to say, ‘Stop Asian hate.’ Even before that hashtag, the reason I wanted to make it to the UFC and the reason I wanted to be a good fighter, what pushed me, what motivated me, was not just for my people and for my family. I wanted to show that Asians could do it, too,” Soukhamthath said. “I’m the first of my kind. I’m the first America-Lao fighter to be signed to the UFC. That’s not just for my Lao people. That’s for Asian males in general. Like, ‘Yo, you can do it.’ I’ve always stood for that. Now that the Asian people are facing these random attacks, I’ve definitely got to speak up. I want to use my platform – every platform I have.”

If he had to send a message to the general public, it’d be that Asian-Americans just want to fit in with everyone else – and should be treated like everyone else.

“I just want to tell the general public that no, we don’t eat cats or dogs,” Soukhamthath said. “Not every one of us has the coronavirus. We’re just regular hard-working Americans just like you that want to be considered American, too. We pay our taxes. We raise our families here. We’re trying to follow the American dream, man.”

XFC 44 takes place Friday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The main card airs on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Deportes. It will be preceded by XFC YoungGuns 2, which will air on the same channels.

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XFC 43 adds Andre Soukhamthath, Jessica Aguilar, and more to NBC Sports Network debut

XFC is back and some UFC-familiar names are being prominently featured.

In a press release issued Tuesday, the promotion announced XFC 43 is officially set for Nov. 11 at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. In addition to signifying the promotion’s relaunch, the event also marks the first show XFC will hold on NBC Sports Network.

Atop the billing, former UFC bantamweight and former CES bantamweight champion [autotag]Andre Soukhamthath[/autotag] will take on former XFC featherweight champion [autotag]Guilherme Faria[/autotag] in a 135-pound main event.

In the co-main event, women’s MMA pioneer [autotag]Jessica Aguilar[/autotag] (20-8) returns to action for the first time since her UFC departure. She’ll take on fellow ex-UFC fighter [autotag]Danielle Taylor[/autotag] (10-5) at strawweight.

“This card is stacked from prelim No. 1 through the main event,” XFC president Myron Molotky wrote in the release. “The XFC business model will be on full display throughout the night. The XFC YoungGuns, 155 and 170 XFC Men’s Tournament, and the XFC SuperFight Series will give fans worldwide a front seat view of the next generation of champions. Every fighter on this card knows what is expected as soon as the hexagon doors close. Let’s go!”

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Soukhamthath (13-8) has not competed since his UFC departure in late 2019. His pink slip came after losing five of seven promotional appearances. Eleven of Soukhamthath’s 13 pro victories have come inside the distance.

Faria (16-8) has competed largely in Brazil. He’s only fought four times since 2015, losing three of those fights to Jason Soares, Jamall Emmers, and Elismar Lima.

XFC events are set to be split into three separate series: “Young Guns” (for up-and-coming talent), “Tournament Series” (bracket-format competition culminating in the crowning of a champion), and “Super Fights” (matchups featuring their biggest-name talent).

NBCSN will air the first event of the deal, XFC 43, on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, with the final two hours of the card set to be shown live beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

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CES MMA 61 postponed due to coronavirus outbreak concerns

CES MMA 61 follows dozens of recent cancellations and postponements from notable promotions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

CES MMA 61 has been postponed.

The event follows dozens of recent cancelations and postponements from notable promotions due to the international coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The promotion did not state when or where the card would be rebooked – or if those logistics had even been figured out yet.

CES MMA 61 was supposed to take place April 24 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The event was expected to stream on UFC Fight Pass. The promotion announced the news Thursday.

“Asking our fighters to prepare to compete knowing there is a great chance the event will not take place would be unfair and, most importantly, unhealthy,” CES promoter Jimmy Burchfield Jr. stated. “This adversity will pass, and CES MMA will return in 2020 greater than ever. Until then, we ask all of our fighters and fans to take caution, exercise common sense and stay safe.”

The event was not completely booked at the time of the postponement, however a handful of fights were announced. The main event was supposed to feature a flyweight title fight between champion [autotag]Blaine Shutt[/autotag] (8-4 MMA) and DWCS alumnus [autotag]Richie Santiago[/autotag] (8-2 MMA). UFC veterans [autotag]Andre Soukhamthath[/autotag] (13-8 MMA), [autotag]Kyle Bochniak[/autotag] (8-5 MMA), and [autotag]Austin Arnett[/autotag] (16-7 MMA) were also booked to fight on the card.

Ex-UFC bantamweight Andre Soukhamthath returns to CES MMA

Following his release from the UFC, Andre Soukhamthath is set to fight April 24 at CES 61.

Former UFC bantamweight [autotag]Andre Soukhamthath[/autotag] is returning to a familiar setting.

Soukhamthath, who was released by the UFC last September, is set to kick off his post-UFC run against Da’Mon Blackshear in a 135-pound bout April 24 at CES 61. CES MMA announced the booking Wednesday.

CES 61 will take place April 24 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., and stream on UFC Fight Pass.

The 31-year-old Soukmathath (13-8), a native of Woonsocket, R.I., has fought the majority of his career for CES MMA. He went 11-2 from 2012 to 2016 during which he captured the promotion’s bantamweight title before joining the UFC. His run with the UFC wasn’t so successful as he went 2-5.

Soukhamthath’s UFC tenure ended with back-to-back unanimous decision losses in 2019 to Montel Jackson and Su Mudaerji. His two promotional victories came against Luke Sanders by knockout and Jonathan Martinez by decision.

100 of the most fascinating UFC facts from the past decade

Some of the most significant in-fight moments and records in UFC history have occurred and been etched in stone over the past decade.

The past decade of UFC action has seen a lot unfold, and it is arguably the most important in the organization’s history from in terms of evolution.

Only within this era have statistics truly come to the forefront. After so many years of fights, the groundwork for what’s viewed as meaningful and the history attached has finally been laid out. The athletes and techniques have evolved, too, meaning new methods of causing damage and finishing fights are attempted and pulled off with a higher rate of frequency.

That evolution is apparent in the history books, because some of the most significant moments and records in UFC history have occurred over this past decade.

Let’s dig into the archives.

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EVENT FEATS

The UFC held 363 events in 159 difference venues across 26 countries over the past decade.

“UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya” in October 2019 had the highest announced attendance in company history at 57,127.

“UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor” in November 2016 sold a largest live gate in company history at $17.7 million.

“UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura” in November 2017 had the most total fight time of any event in company history at 3 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.

“UFC Fight Night 55:: Rockhold vs. Bisping” in November 2014 had the least total fight time of those events at 1 hour, 3 minutes and 51 seconds.

The UFC canceled four events over the decade: UFC 151 in September 2012; UFC 176 in August 2014; UFC Fight Night 97 in October 2016 and UFC 233 in January 2019.

Michael Bisping def. Luke Rockhold at UFC 199

“UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping” and “UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington” in May 2018 each featured 11 stoppage results, the most for any card in company history.

“UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez” in April 2013, “UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs. Miller” in July 2014, “UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2,” in June 2016 and “UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2” in December 2017 each featured eight knockout results, the most of the decade.

“UFC on FUEL TV 10: Werdum vs. Nogueira” in June 2013 featured eight submission results, the most for any card in company history.

Seven events each featured 10 decision results, the most for any card in company history.

“UFC Fight Night 134: Shogun vs. Smith” in July 2018 and “UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” each featured nine consecutive decision results, the longest streak on a card in company history.

“UFC Fight Night 79: Henderson vs. Masvidal” in November 2015 and “UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya” in March 2018 each featured five split-decision results, the most for any card in company history.

Henry Cejudo def. Marlon Moraes at UFC 238

“UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes” in June 2019 featured a total of 1,818 significant strikes landed, a single-event record for the company.

“UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta” in April 2018 featured seven fighters who landed 100 or more significant strikes, a single-event record for the company.

“UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2” in June 2016 featured 15 knockdowns, a single-event record for the company.

“UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor” in July 2015 was the only event in company history to feature two knockouts stemming from flying knee strikes.

“UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till” in September 2018 was the only event in company history to feature two kneebar submission results.

“UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre” in November 2017 marked the only event in history to feature three title changes.

Next page: General feats

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