Ex-UFC Champions & MMA Stars Name-Drop Potential Opponents after GFL Draft

Ten ex-UFC stars including Tony Ferguson, Anthony Pettis, and Chris Weidman reveal who they want to fight in the GFL.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Many fights and rematches we never got to see in the UFC may end up happening in the GFL.

Global Fight League, MMA's newest promotion, has signed a multitude of ex-UFC stars, including 14 former UFC champions such as Tony Ferguson, Tyron Woodley, Chris Weidman - the list goes on.

Bellator champions, title challengers, and long-tenured UFC veterans will have all the opportunity to share the cage at some point or another. The GFL interviewed several of their signees as part of their inaugural draft on Friday, asking them about potential opponents in this year's regular season.

MMA Knockout has gathered all of their answers, as well some other fighters who didn't get the same spotlight on the GFL broadcast such as Charles Rosa and Kai Kamaka III.

MMA veteran Kai Kamaka III. / Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Tony Ferguson: Dillon Danis, Kevin Lee

Ferguson was one of the premier names to be drafted to the GFL, his UFC career finally coming to a close after 13 years after the longest losing streak in promotional history (8).

"It's kinda crazy I went through a period of my life where nobody wanted to fight me. Then, all of a sudden, everybody wanted to fight me," Ferguson said. "It's kind of interesting how it goes. That's how my whole life has been, ups and downs. Right now, I see a lot of people. Dillon Danis' name, Kevin Lee..."

Former UFC Champion Tony Ferguson. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Kevin Lee was one of Tony Ferguson's final wins on a 12-fight tear through the lightweight division. "El Cucuy" captured the UFC interim lightweight title with a submission of Lee at UFC 216 in 2017, in the absence of then-champ Conor McGregor.

Dillon Danis, a teammate of McGregor's known for his grappling skills, is 2-0 in MMA and has not competed in the sport since 2019.

Ferguson's currently on an 8-fight losing streak, his last bout a first-round submission loss to Michael Chiesa at UFC Riyadh in August.

Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley, the overall #1 draft pick for the GFL season, didn't mention any names but did express interest in fighting someone from a UFC background.

"There's so many matchups I never got the opportunity to fight in the UFC," Woodley said.

Aside from "The Chosen One", there are only six UFC veterans in the GFL's welterweight division, none with the name value of Woodley - a UFC Champion from 2016 to 2019.

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Former UFC Champion Tyron Woodley. / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Anthony Pettis: Tony Ferguson, Sage Northcutt, Dillon Danis

Former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony "Showtime" Pettis has also fought the who's-who across combat sports, even boxing Roy Jones Jr. in 2023. Returning to MMA, there's a trio of names that stick out for Pettis.

"I fought a lot of these guys already. Obviously, the one that jumps out is Tony Ferguson. Me and Tony had a war in UFC. I broke my hand, we couldn't finish that fight, so that's a big one for me. Sage Northcutt - we've never fought before and there's a bunch of guys in there, especially Dillon Danis. Tony sticks out, though."

#OnThisDay in 2010: Anthony Pettis entered the Matrix with the SHOWTIME KICK!! 😱

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Chris Weidman: Uriah Hall

Former middleweight champion and two-time slayer of the legendary Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman announced his UFC retirement earlier this month, leaving the promotion for a fighting future in the GFL.

Weidman says he'd like to do a trilogy bout with Uriah Hall, seeing as though they're 1-1 in their series. After coming up short on the regional scene, Hall won their rematch at UFC 261 in 2021 by checking a leg kick from Weidman which snapped Weidman's leg.

“We have a lot of history," Weidman said of a potential trilogy with Hall.

The 40-year-old Weidman is 3-7 since losing the middleweight title to Luke Rockhold - another name that's in the GFL middleweight division.

Former UFC Champion Chris Weidman. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

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Gegard Mousasi: Luke Rockhold

Former Bellator Champion, 12-fight UFC veteran and a former foe of Weidman's, Gegard Mousasi apparently knows who he'd like to fight later this year.

"Luke Rockhold is a big name I saw in the middleweight division," Mousasi continued. "We almost fought each other when we were in the UFC, but that didn't happen. So, that's a possibilty. That's a nice matchup. He has a big name so that'd be nice."

Former Bellator Champion Gegard Mousasi. / Dave Mandel-Imagn Images

Shogun Rua: Rashad Evans

Speaking of more fights that didn't happen in the UFC, former light heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was asked if he would like to fight Rashad Evans, another former champ.

"Rashad's a great opponent, we were supposed to fight two times back in the day but I believe the third time's the charm," Rua said.

Former UFC Champion Mauricio Shogun Rua. / Jason Silva-Imagn Images

Urijah Faber: Renan Barao

An unexpected addition to the GFL roster, a 45-year-old "California Kid" Urijah Faber makes his return to MMA for the first time since a 2019 KO loss to Petr Yan. Faber initially retired from MMA back in 2016, months after challenging Dominick Cruz for the title.

The former WEC Champion mentioned longtime rival Renan Barao as a potential opponent.

"I saw Renan Barao... I got two losses against that dude," Faber said. "He was filling in for Dominick Cruz when he was injured, and the second time I was filling for Dominick Cruz when he got injured. Both times, I never got a fair shake. So, hopefully I'll line up against that dude at one point because that's what I'd like to get back."

Former WEC Champion Uriah Faber. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Benson Henderson

A former WEC and UFC Champion like former foe Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson says he wants "everybody".

"They got a pretty good roster of guys here, a big long list of names - a bunch I actually haven't fought before."

Henderson went on an impressive 11-3 run in the UFC, later going on to Bellator where he was unsuccessful in title bids against then-champs Andrey Koreshkov, Michael Chandler, and lastly Usman Nurmagomedov.

Former UFC Champion Benson Henderson. / Dave Mandel-Imagn Images

In terms of the biggest fights, Benson Henderson could potentially be matched up with Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis (again), Jeremy Stephens, and Sage Northcutt.

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Charles Rosa: Kai Kamaka III

13-fight UFC veteran and CES Lightweight Champion Charles Rosa is a part of a GFL featherweight division that includes Chad Mendes, Brett Johns, Lance Palmer, and more.

Currently on a five-fight win streak post-UFC, Boston-native Rosa says he'd like to fight former UFC fighter and Bellator standout Kai Kamaka III.

"Always thought Kai Kamaka would be a great fight," Rosa told MMA Knockout on Saturday. "He's on team New York, natural rival of Miami and Boston in all sports. Exciting fighter, and we have multiple $50k 'Fight of the Night' bonuses."

UFC veteran Charles Rosa. / Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Kai Kamaka III: Julio Arce, Brett Johns, Chad Mendes

The aforementioned 'Fighting Hawaiian' Kai Kamaka recently broke free from his PFL contract, finding a new home in the GFL after previously competing for the UFC and Bellator MMA.

“I’d like to fight all. If I had to choose in order, Julio Arce, Brett Johns, Chad Mendes," Kamaka told MMA Knockout. "Our weight class has solid talent. I just want the ones that might carry the most weight on my record.

"Arce beat two of my teammates, Brett Johns was in the PFL tournament and Chad Mendes would be like fighting one of your high school idols."

Kamaka also says he wouldn’t want to fight teammate Lance Palmer, as they have the same coach. Kamaka says Palmer helped him a lot for his PFL fight against Bubba Jenkins last year.

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