The Global Fight League held their inaugural draft on Friday night. We can now say definitively, there were fighters included who did not give their consent to be included in the league’s draft pool.
Rashad Evans was drafted to the league’s Los Angeles team.
However, Evans made it clear, he did not want to be included in the league’s draft. Evans and former UFC rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have agreed to a boxing match in April.
Rampage took to social media to question Evans’ inclusion in the league.
“I don’t know how Rashad is on here when I’m scheduled to beat his ass in April,” Rampage posted on X.
Evans assured his rival that he would indeed be fighting him in the planned boxing match, and offered: “Let me be clear! The only commitment I have is to lay yo ass out in April!! I was added to this without my consent!! You ain’t off the hook that easy!”
I reached out to Evans via text for more details.
“I never signed with them,” Evans said. “I expressed interest in fighting with them in the future. I told them I can’t sign anything with them until after I fight Rampage in April.”
It’s unclear where the mix-up happened, but the two sides are not on the same page.
“Once I saw them include me in the draft I was bothered,” Evans added. “Because I specifically told my manager to not allow this to happen. This organization is amateur. I just feel bad for guys who jumped to this promotion and left viable contracts with other promotions. This behavior told me all I need to know about this organization. They made promises they can’t possibly keep.”
Most Takedowns in UFC Light Heavyweight History
- Corey Anderson – 53
- Rashad Evans – 50
- Ryan Bader – 46
- Jon Jones – 42
- Ion Cutelaba – 37
- Glover Teixeira – 36
- Patrick Cummins – 35
- Tito Ortiz – 33
- Matt Hamill – 31
- Phil Davis – 31
Many MMA fans badly want the Global Fight League to succeed, but every day a troubling bit of news comes out that creates serious doubt about its legitimacy.
While there were a good number of production errors, the stream was oddly entertaining, and there was no shortage of big names who showed up to be a part of the stream. If this thing is going to succeed, they’re going to have to stop sabotaging themselves with egregious decisions that aren’t good for the league’s long-term success.
There are so many head-scratching decisions. Why are they going with a season or team concept? That’s never worked in MMA. Why are they prematurely announcing fighters as part of their roster without written agreements?
The blend of legends and prospects is an interesting mix, but fans have to be able to trust and believe in what the promotion is selling.
With what we’re beginning to hear from fighters and others, we have to question the involvement of any fighters who haven’t acknowledged their plans to compete in the new league.
