My problems with the GFL (Problem Post)

Out of nowhere in 2024, the Global Fight League appeared in the MMA space with huge promises and another unique format that had not been seen since the IFL years ago. While some of the things that they are promising such as a 50/50 revenue split, guaranteed fights, and more open contracts are great things that I wish every promotion had. But as of now the GFL has not run an event, and with some of the controversy regarding their launch and draft, it remains to be seen how this plays out. I wanted to talk about two of the problems that I have noticed, that being their formatting and their roster. 

The first thing I want to mention is their roster. They have plenty of names and former world champions under their banner, but many of these fighters are well past their primes. Names like Frank Mir, Mauricio Rua and Andrei Arlovski are definitely names, but they are all over 40 years old and were past their best years ago. I actually don't mind a promotion where older fighters can fight each other instead of much more dangerous younger fighters, but that is going to turn off a lot of fans. The GFL does have some younger names, but unless they turn them into stars, they will remain unknown as they are now. 

Another thing that I have an issue with is their team format. Their CEO Darren Owen states that the team format is historically proven, mentioning things like the NBA and NFL. While that is true, this format has never been successful in MMA, as the only time it has been tried was in the IFL, which did not last. Another thing that Owen stated was that although teams were formed through a draft, they can move fighters around as they please to make the matchups people want to see. Making fights people want to see is what all promotions should be doing, but it raises the question of why there are teams to begin with if they can be changed whenever and take a backseat to making the best fights. In my opinion, the only reason that the team format was chosen was to differentiate themselves from the UFC in the eyes of fans and most importantly investors who would not want to invest in a company that sounds exactly like the UFC. The PFL has changed their format to follow a more traditional combat sports format because it got in the way of matchmaking and confused fans, and I think GFL will likely come to the same realization. 

There are some other issues that I have with the promotion or its concept, but I really wanted to highlight these two. I absolutely want the GFL to succeed as a promotion as more alternatives outside the UFC is a good thing, but I feel that they are a long way away from that success under their current format and conditions.