It seems as though the Global Fight League may be over before it even begins, as the company's first two events have been cancelled and there are major doubts about its future.
That's according to Yahoo Sports/Uncrowned's Shaheen Al-Shatti, who wrote that the California State Athletic Commission's Executive Director, Andy Foster, confirmed the news to Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani on Wednesday.
The news was confirmed by additional sources as well.
GFL has canceled its first two events, scheduled for May 24 and 25 in Los Angeles, per multiple sources and confirmed by CSAC executive director Andy Foster.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 10, 2025
There are serious doubts about the future of the promotion.
Reached out to founder Darren Owen but no reply at this…
"The fledgling, team-based MMA promotion has formally canceled its debut slate of events," Al-Shatti wrote. "GFL had planned an ambitious launch to its first season, aiming to stage a two-day, 31-fight lineup on May 24-25, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles."
Fightful previously reported that the GFL, previously known as the World Fight League, announced that they were launching the first team-based league, which included 48 men and 16 women fighting for first-team contracts across eight different tournaments and three events.
GFL announced just last Monday that its back-to-back fight nights would feature athletes from all six of the organization's teams competing across 10 weight classes over the two-night event.
According to ESPN, the card included Uriah Faber taking on former UFC Champion Renan Barao, as well as Anthony Pettis taking on Benson Henderson, Tony Ferguson taking Dillon Danis, and more.
Now, it looks as though those plans are out the door.
"GFL made a splash this past December with announcements of grand plans following three years of preparation and a name change from the World Fight League," Al-Shatti wrote. "Owen told Uncrowned at that time that GFL planned to implement a team-based format and seasonal setting, with a 15-event schedule until August 2025 followed by two playoff events in September and the season finals in November."
MMA Fighting reports that there are still ongoing talks about possibly rescheduling the events, but it's unknown if that will actually happen or if the fighters will even still be interested.
As of this writing, GFL founder Darren Owen has not responded to requests for comment from Uncrowned.
For more on this developing story, check out Uncrowned.
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