Tag: John Makdessi

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.

UFC parts ways with 11 fighters, including former title challenger

The UFC has parted ways with 11 fighters including a former title challenger after a two-month stretch that saw 55 signings.

The UFC roster has been officially trimmed by 11 fighters.

With a whopping 55 fighters signed in the months of September and October combined, the UFC has parted ways with nearly a dozen fighters in recent days including a former women’s flyweight title challenger.

Algorithm-based Twitter account UFC Roster Tracker first published the transactions when the promotion removed the fighters from official rankings eligibility.

Check out the recent batch of UFC departures below. The means of each fighter’s departure (release, end of contract, etc.) is not known, unless denoted otherwise.

UFC 293 post-event facts: Sean Strickland starts a new era at 185 pounds

The best facts to come out of UFC 293, which saw Sean Strickland force a changing of the guard with his title win over Israel Adesanya.

The UFC’s return to Sydney after nearly six years produced one of the most shocking main event results of the year as the middleweight title changed hands at Qudos Bank Arena.

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) closed out UFC 293 with a massive unanimous decision upset of [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) to take the belt and force a reset at the top of the middleweight rankings.

For more on the numbers from the title bout, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 293.

* * * *

UFC 293 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean Strickland gets $32,000 for title win

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 293 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,000.

SYDNEY – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 293 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $209,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 293 took place at Qudos Bank Arena in Australia. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 293 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Felipe dos Santos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Austen Lane[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Anton Turkalj[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Chepe Mariscal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jack Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Landon Quinones[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Blood Diamond[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kiefer Crosbie[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,944,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $20,533,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

UFC 293 pre-event facts: Israel Adesanya brings elite resume into Sydney headliner

The best facts and figures about UFC 293, which sees Israel Adesanya attempt to close in on Anderson Silva’s title-fight wins record.

The UFC returns to Sydney for the first time in nearly six years Saturday with UFC 293, which goes down at Qudos Bank Arena and features a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

A middleweight championship showdown serves as the main event of the card. [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will attempt to make the first defense of his second title reign when he puts gold on the line against outspoken contender [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC).

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC 293.

* * * *

John Makdessi replicated crowd booing in training for UFC 293 return vs. Australia’s Jamie Mullarkey

John Makdessi is ready to fight in enemy territory at UFC 293.

[autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag] is ready to fight in enemy territory and not just physically.

The UFC lightweight veteran returns to the octagon on Sept. 9, when he takes on Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 293 in Mullarkey’s home country of Australia. Makdessi (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) can bank on not having the crowd in his favor, and that’s why his team at Fight Ready in Arizona simulated booing and heckling in preparation for this bout.

“I went to a complete new gym,” Makdessi told MMA Junkie Radio. “All the guys wanted to kill me at the gym and every time I went to go spar, I would have to wait. I had to wait last to do my training session and everybody in the gym would boo me. The whole training camp I was getting booed.

“Whatever. It is what it is. I cannot control the booing and all that stuff. That is not going to affect me at all. I’m mentally tough and physically ready. I’m not the biggest guy, the tallest guy or the strongest guy, but I am ‘The Bull.'”

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Makdessi last competed in September 2022, losing a decision to Nasrat Haqparast. The 38-year-old is 1-2 in his past three bouts and looking to get back on a winning streak.

The seasoned veteran knows he’s got a tough task ahead, but that’s something he’s used to.

“When they announced that fight, I was watching tape and what caught my eye even more was his trainer Ross Pearson and I fought Ross Pearson,” Makdessi said. “Then I watched his fights, and he’s a little bit of a (boxer) and moves his head. He’s durable. He’s a tough, strong, durable fighter. I’ve fought so many tough, durable strikers in the UFC.

“It’s easy for me to say, ‘Oh, I saw a hole,’ but at the end of the day, anything can happen in a fight. I prepared all across the board for this fight, so I’m just ready to go out there and give the fans an exciting fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 293.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 24-30)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by a promotion from July 24-30.

UFC Paris winner Nasrat Haqparast downplays pre-fight beef with John Makdessi: ‘It was nothing personal’

Whatever beef there might’ve been between Nasrat Haqparast and John Makdessi heading into UFC Paris, consider it squashed.

PARIS – Whatever beef there might’ve been between [autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag] and [autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag] heading into UFC Fight Night 209, Haqparast considers it squashed after his unanimous decision win in their lightweight bout Saturday at Accor Arena.

“Honestly, it was just like, we trained together seven years ago in 2015 at TriStar,” Haqparast told reporters afterward. “We were like training partners. Then he split the team. It can happen, you know. He found his own way. We got matched in 2019; three years ago I had some visa issues. I pulled out then I wanted to get the fight rescheduled. It didn’t happen. Then we were supposed to fight in February, (but) he got injured. Now this was the third time (being booked).

“In between that, we had a little bit of Twitter trash talk, but it was nothing personal. He didn’t say something against my family, me either. We didn’t cross the line. Just a little bit of trash talk to hype the fight a little bit. Now we squashed the beef, and everything is fine.”

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It seemed like more than that when Haqparast (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Makdessi got in each other’s faces at the end of Round 1, but Haqparast simply chalked that up to being in the heat of the moment.

“It’s just a fight,” Haqparast said. “Excites me so much.”

With the win, Haqparast snapped a two-fight skid – losses to Dan Hooker and Bobby Green. He’s looking forward now that’s happy with what he showed against Makdessi.

“We close the book, and we head to the next challenge,” Haqparast said. “He had a lot of experience. He’s a very experienced guy, mature guy, awkward style. Everybody’s fighting like him. I wanted to show a little bit of my real skill set against him, and I’m proud what I did today.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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UFC Fight Night 209 post-event facts: Ciryl Gane rebounds on home soil

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 209, which saw Ciryl Gane knock out Tai Tuivasa in the main event.

The UFC’s debut event in France was nothing short of spectacular on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in Paris being a memorable show.

The hometown hero emerged with a stellar win in the main event, as [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) broke down and eventually finished [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) with a third-round knockout in the headlining act between heavyweight contenders.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 209.

UFC Fight Night 209 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Headliner Ciryl Gane nets $6k

UFC Fight Night 209 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

PARIS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 209 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $155,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 209 took place at Accor Arena. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 209 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Alessio Di Chirico[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]William Gomis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jarno Errens[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Abus Magomedov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]John Makdessi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Michal Figlak[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Miranda[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Christian Quinonez[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Khalid Taha[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ailin Perez[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2097 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2091 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $5,969,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $12,136,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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