UFC Hall-of-Famer Wanderlei Silva is 48 years old and hasn’t competed since he lost to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in September 2018. However, he is one of dozens of recognizable names included in the draft pool for the upcoming MMA league, the Global Fight League.
Fans who are very familiar with Silva and the wars he has been in over the course of his career asked the GFL’s official X account if Silva’s inclusion was real.
According to the GFL’s official X account, Silva expressed an interest to be involved, but his inclusion in any fight would be based on approval from the athletic commission where he fights.
That said, as the GFL’s account pointed out, Silva’s popularity is apparent, as is the sarcasm from MMA fans. The Axe Murderer was winning GFL’s poll that asked fans: “You are in charge of picking your team’s SECOND middleweight. Who do you choose and why?
At the time of this post, Silva 48% of the vote and the next closest fighter is former UFC fighter and recent Karate Combat participant, Markus Perez.
At one point in his career, Wanderlei Silva was arguably the most exciting fighter in the sport. Silva’s all-action style produced classic fights against Rampage Jackson, Brian Stann, Cung Le, Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Chuck Liddell, Hidehiko Yoshida, and more.
Unfortunately, those fights happened more than a decade ago—in some instances, more than 20 years ago. Silva’s time as a legitimate fighter is likely over.
The GFL’s roster is heavy on big names from the UFC, Bellator, and Pride’s past, but also strong on questions about the fighters’ ability to perform at a high level. No one is expecting Silva, Anthony Pettis, Alexander Gustafsson, or Renan Barao to be as good as they were in their prime.
However, the hope is that they’re still able to have competitive and exciting fights while leaving the cage or ring with their faculties intact. There’s still much we don’t know about the new league.
What we do know is the major makeup of the roster, the team-based format that will include a draft, and that the organization promises a 50-50 revenue split with the fighters.
While I’m not a fan of the team or season-based format in combat sports, I am interested in seeing how the teams are formed, how the events will be presented, and if the fights grab the attention of the MMA community.
Hopefully, the GFL’s events will occupy a day of the week, like Friday, that isn’t currently owned by the UFC. Here is a look at the roster listed on the promotion’s website:
Heavyweight
- Alan Belcher
- Aleksandr Maslov
- Aleksei Oleinik
- Andrei Arlovski
- Fabrício Werdum
- Frank Mir
- Junior dos Santos
- Oli Thompson
- Greg Hardy
- Guto Inocente
- Philipe Lins
- Robelis Despaigne
- Roggers Souza
- Stuart Austin
- Tanner Boser
Light Heavyweight
- Alexander Gustafsson
- Cleiton Silva
- Emiliano Sordi
- Ilir Latifi
- Rafael Carvalho
- Thiago Santos
- Da Woon Jung
Middleweight
- Gegard Mousasi
- Chauncey Foxworth
- Glaico Franca
- Héctor Lombard
- Jared Revel
- Jozef Wittner
- Kyle Daukaus
- Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz
- Luke Rockhold
- Markus Perez
- Phil Hawes
- Wanderlei Silva
Welterweight
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov
- Austin Tweedy
- Adilet Nurmatov
- Benson Henderson
- Danny Mitchell
- Dominick Meriweather
- Francisco Trinaldo
- Joao Zeferino
- Jozef Wittner
- Jordan Mein
- Julio Spadaccini
- Michael Irizarry
- Rousimar Palhares
- Ruan Machado
- Tyron Woodley
Lightweight
- Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev
- Aaron McKenzie
- Anthony Pettis
- Alex Oliveira
- Ayton De Paepe
- Charles Rosa
- Feruz Usmonov
- Gabriel Souza Galindo
- Ayinda Nah Octave Tiphaine
- Christian Giagos
- Benson Henderson
- Ayinda Octave
- Jefferson Pontes
- Jeremy Stephens
- John Makdessi
- Kevin Lee
- Killys Mota
- Lucas Martins
- Mohamed Tarek Mohey
- Oscar Ownsworth
- Raimundo Batista
- Sidney Outlaw
- Stephen Beaumont
- Will Brooks
- William Lima
- Yan Cabral
Featherweight
- Alexsandro Lopes Cangaty
- Bubba Jenkins
- Andre Harrison
- Claudeci Brito
- Deberson Batista
- Lance Palmer
- Marcel Adur
- Marcelo Dias
- Marlon Moraes
- Mohammad Abzakh
- Patrizio de Souza Janurario
- Renan Oliveira
- Renan Barão
Bantamweight
- Cameron Else
- Denis Palancica
- Diego Teixeira
- Jimmie Rivera
- Marciano Ferreira
- Omar Arteaga
- Marcus Paulo Amaral
Women’s Bantamweight
- Alexa Conners
- Queila Braga
- Pannie Kianzad
- Tonya Evinger
Women’s Flyweight
- Chiara Penco
- Kalindra Faria
- Miao Ding
Women’s Strawweight
- Bi Nguyen
- Viviane Pereira
- Silvania Monteiro
- Hannah Goldy
- Jessica Penne
- Kayla Hracho
Stay tuned as more information on the GFL becomes available.
