Ex-UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is keen to address ‘the elephant in the room’ concerning his recent signing to the emerging Global Fight League (GFL) promotion.
Weidman retired from the UFC on January 17. The promotion was fond of ‘The All-American’ who assumed the position as a key member of the weigh-in show and received a heart-warming UFC retirement highlight reel – but none could have expected the news that would follow.
Less than a week later, 40-year-old Weidman is reportedly signed to the GFL, a new promotion that promises to fix some of the pitfalls of modern MMA, such as fighter pay and event structure.
Chris Weidman explains history with GFL fighters as a reason for signing
As with the UFC, fighters aren’t ordinarily privy to a retirement highlight package unless they retire from MMA altogether. Take Andrei Arlovski, a 42-fight UFC veteran who retired quietly in late 2024 since he intended to continue competing.
Because of this, fans were confused to see Weidman announced for the GFL draft on January 25. Weidman addressed the confusion in an appearance on the GFL draft, referring to his retirement from the UFC as “the elephant in the room.”
“The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC,” Weidman said. “A lot of people thought I was done fighting. . . . I was kind of open to other opportunities outside the UFC, but they had to be good.
“This is a league where there’s a lot of guys that I have a lot of history with. You got Luke Rockhold, you got Gegard Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall. Rockhold was my first loss ever… Uriah Hall broke my damn leg… You know it’s older dudes that I have a lot of history with. I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money…”
GFL draft draws criticism as fighters accuse promotion of using their image without consent
GFL has been called out for misinformation, as the promotion alleges it has signed fighters who claim they are under contract elsewhere.
Ex-UFC champion Rashad Evans claimed the GFL added him to a fight graphic without his consent. GFL also announced the signing of OKMMA fighter Andreas Michalidis before journalist Al Zullino rebutted the news on X.
In addition, the GFL has been criticized for lazy promotion by using generative AI to create its draft trailer. The video shared as part of their draft features anthropoidal representations of popular fighters gearing up to appear in a futuristic arena.