In late 2024, it was announced that a new MMA promotion, Global Fight League, will finally launch its first season in April 2025 and they have some big news regarding weight classes.
Global Fight League has been in talks to launch its first season for several years, but in late 2024 they finally announced that their first season would launch in April of this year, with a draft later this month.
The unique promotion will run as a team-based product and a virtual selection process will take place on January 24 to determine which fighters will be on which teams.
The GFL also wants to combat one of the biggest problems in professional fighting: weight cutting.
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GFL will announce their weight classes ahead of the inaugural season in 2025
Ahead of their launch, the promotion has announced its roster, which includes several former UFC fighters such as Paige VanZant, Wanderlei Silva, Tyron Woodley and many more.
The promotion has come under scrutiny following the release of their roster due to the fact that many of the fighters are over the age of 35.
Of the 102 fighters who have already announced they will compete under the GFL banner, 55 are over the age of 35, 19 of whom are in their 40s. It was subsequently reported that a heavyweight fighter on the roster signed a contract for $1.4 million per fight, raising concerns about their financial output.
GFL isn't the only UFC rival to come under criticism recently, as PFL has been fired up by fans after announcing they are dropping their tournament prize from $1 million to $500,000.
However, one way the GFL is looking to differentiate itself from the powerhouse that is the UFC is by creating brand new weight classes. A major criticism of the UFC model is that there is too much of a weight jump between their categories.
GFL announced last Thursday that they are committed to “reducing extreme weight cutting by increasing weight class limits.”
The women's divisions will start at 110 pounds at atomic weight, followed by strawweight at 125 pounds, while the women's bantamweight limit will be set at 140 pounds.
The men's weight classes start at bantamweight at 145 pounds, with the featherweight limit being 155 pounds. Lightweight then has a limit of 165 pounds and welterweight of 180 pounds. The middleweight limit will be 200 pounds and lightweight will be supplemented to 225 pounds with heavyweight 265 pounds.
Fighters and fans react to the GFL's new weight class limits
As part of their announcement, the promotion said: “The GFL is committed to reducing extreme weight cuts by increasing weight class limits, helping athletes maintain optimal health and peak performance while minimizing injuries.
“This approach helps fighters stay healthier and better prepared to deliver exciting performances for fans.”
Despite the promotion's attempt to get the fighters and fans on their side, their announcement was met with a suggestion from former UFC star Muhammad Mokaev.
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“We respect that position; However, we found that having too many intermediate weights caused a lot of problems when trying to avoid extreme weight cuts,” the promotion responded.
A well-known fan in the MMA community commented, “If you're concerned about fighters' health, may I suggest not signing geriatric fighters?”
“Wanderlei Silva is 48 years old. It doesn't matter if it's 200, 225 or 265. He has no business struggles whatsoever,” another fan commented.
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