Tag: Glaico Franca

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.

7 former UFC fighters, other notables added to XMMA 6 in South Carolina

Check out the latest fight card from XMMA, a promotion which has centered around pairing notable names from the UFC and beyond.

XMMA is back for its first event of 2023 and putting on another card filled with notable names.

This time, seven UFC alumni and two former Bellator standouts are on tap for the event Wednesday. XMMA 6 will take place at John T. Rhodes Myrtle Beach Sports Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and streams free on YouTube.

The promotion launched in January 2021 with XMMA 1 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and was headlined by Andre Fialho vs. James Vick. XMMA 2 took place in July 2021 with a Ben Saunders vs. Ramsey Nijem main event. XMMA 3 followed shortly thereafter in October, headlined by Cody Gibson vs. John Dodson. XMMA 4 took place on April 2, headlined by John Dodson vs. Francisco Rivera. The most recent show the promotion put on was XMMA 5 in July, headlined by Will Brooks vs. Luis Pena.

Keeping with notable names as top-billing, XMMA 6 features nine major promotional notables from years past. Scroll below to see which UFC alums and other fighters are currently scheduled to compete.

PFL welterweight Glaico Franca suspended by Nevada – but the order has already expired

In an odd set of circumstances, PFL fighter Glaico Franca today accepted a nine-month suspension – the length of which has already expired.

In an odd set of circumstances, PFL welterweight [autotag]Glaico Franca[/autotag] today accepted a nine-month suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission – the length of which has already expired.

Franca tested positive for stanozolol, a banned steroid, in association with an Oct. 11 appearance at PFL 2019, Playoffs 1 in Las Vegas. Franca fought twice that night, scoring a majority decision win over Andre Fialho before losing a majority decision to David Michaud.

The results of the test were first made public in November.

At the time, Franca claimed innocence and pointed to potential supplement contamination as the culprit. Now, nearly 10 months after the event, “Brazilian Zombie” has accepted his punishment.

NAC officials were apologetic for the delay in settling the matter but said that Franca struggled to find a lab in Brazil suited to properly test his supplements. Then, of course, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic complicated matters further. Despite the challenges, the commission stated today’s order was “a fair and equitable resolution.”

Due to the delay in settlement, Franca’s nine-month suspension was applied retroactively and actually expired on July 12, meaning he is no longer under the order. However, before he fights again in Nevada, Franca must pay a fine of $7,500 and attorney’s fees of $617.78.

Additionally, Franca – a “TUF: Brazil 4” cast member who previously fought three times under the UFC banner, as well – must submit to and pay for drug tests 30 days, 15 days and 3 days ahead of his next scheduled contest and prove himself clean of all performance-enhancing drugs and drugs of abuse.

NAC delays Daniel Pineda hearing until next month; four other fighters face sanctions

PFL featherweight Daniel Pineda is out of his $1M fight with Lance Palmer after his NAC hearing was postponed until next month.

PFL dark horse [autotag]Daniel Pineda[/autotag] won’t compete on New Year’s Eve after all.

The former UFC fighter’s improbable run in the 2019 PFL featherweight playoffs was one of the main storylines leading into the finals on Dec. 31 in New York.

However on Nov. 14, MMA Junkie learned Pineda had failed a drug test. The positive result, stemming from an Oct. 17 test, means he is out of his $1M championship fight with Lance Palmer. Palmer will instead face alternate Alex Gilpin, per sources with knowledge of the situation.

In a post on social media, Pineda denied having taken any “steroids” and indicated sex pills may have been the culprit.

Furthermore, Pineda’s manager, Jason House, issued the following statement to MMA Junkie:

“Right now we’re in the process of researching what could have led to a positive test. We plan on appealing the decision once all information is gathered.”

On Wednesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission held their monthly meeting and Pineda’s case was one of the topics on the agenda.

Initially, Pineda’s representative was eager to plead his case to the commission. However before he could get started, the NAC informed him by doing so, he’d forfeit his ability to reach a settlement, something Pineda’s team also seemingly wanted to do.

After a 15-minute intermission, Pineda’s representative elected not to argue his case before the commission Wednesday. Instead, the hearing was tabled until the NAC’s next meeting in January.

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Pineda wasn’t the only PFL fighter who had a hearing Wednesday. Light heavyweight [autotag]Alex Nicholson[/autotag] was suspended four years and fined over $15,000 for testing positive for three anabolic steroids, stemming from an Oct. 31 test.

Additionally, former UFC fighter and TUF 13 runner-up [autotag]Ramsey Nijem[/autotag] was suspended nine months and fined 15 percent of his purse ($3,750),as a result of a positive test for marijuana metabolites. Nijem didn’t respond to the NAC’s inquiries regarding the test.

[autotag]Luiz Rafael Laurentino[/autotag] was suspended 12 months, as a result of a positive test for stanozolol, an androgenic anabolic steroid. The Brazilian was also fined 20 percent of his purse ($5,000) and will have to pay an additional $363.40 in prosecution fees. Laurentino didn’t respond to the NAC’s inquiries regarding the test.

Former TUF Brazil competitor and UFC fighter [autotag]Glaico Franca[/autotag] also went before the commission. Like Pineda, Franca’s temporary suspension was extended and his hearing was tabled until January.

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