GFL Confirms 2026 Relaunch – Can It Deliver?

The Global Fight League (GFL) will relaunch in 2026, as they announced their first event. 

The organization has booked a rematch between former UFC Middleweight Champions Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold. Their first clash took place in 2015 at UFC 194 where Rockhold stopped Weidman to win the middleweight belt. The details over the date or location have not been disclosed.

The league is expected to follow its initial plan of having six global franchises—London, Dubai, São Paulo, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York—competing year-round under a points-based system. The GFL also promised revenue sharing, retirement benefits and comprehensive insurance coverage. The promotion’s initial launch attempt this year in Los Angeles failed, with GFL founder Darren Owen publicly stated that the cancellation was due to a key investor failing to deliver. 

“At its inception, GFL came on the MMA scene seeking attention by promising fighters large sums of money,” Pierson wrote. “Many fighters relied on these promises and, when GFL failed to deliver, have been financially harmed and forced to participate in prolonged fight camps for bouts that now will not occur,” Lloyd Pierson (MMA manager) said