Global Fight League gets Nevada license for one trial event in 2027 after failed 2025 launch

The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) has unanimously granted Global Fight League (GFL) a temporary license for one event, MMA Junkie's Nolan King reported on Thursday, October 22. The decision was made at the commission's monthly meeting in Las Vegas on Wednesday, and it gives the team-based MMA promotion, which has still never held an event, a new path to a debut, but not before 2027.

What Nevada approved

According to MMA Junkie, the commission said the GFL event will be "small" or "medium" in size as a trial. Any larger events after that will need additional licensing approval and may come with extra financial conditions, such as certifying funds in advance.

NAC executive director Jeff Mullen said during the hearing that the first event is expected in 2027 and that the license will not be valid until then.

GFL has announced few details about its relaunch. MMA Junkie noted that a social media post from September pointed to a Miami vs. Buenos Aires event planned for Argentina in the fourth quarter of this year. So far, two signings have been announced: former UFC bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes (24-13-1) and former Invicta fighter Jamie Edenden (6-2-1).

The 2025 collapse

GFL made a splash in late 2024 and early 2025 with a team-based, seasonal format, a shared ownership model, contracts billed as fighter-friendly and a virtual "draft" in which teams picked fighters from a large pool of former UFC, Bellator and PFL names.

The promotion planned to launch with back-to-back events on May 24 and 25, 2025, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The two cards had about 30 fights and included Urijah Faber vs Renan Barao, Anthony Pettis vs Benson Henderson, Holly Holm vs Julia Budd, Tony Ferguson vs Dillon Danis and Ovince Saint Preux vs Alexander Gustafsson. Uncrowned reported that the lineup featured 42 UFC veterans and nine former UFC or Bellator champions, including interim champions.

In April 2025, California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster confirmed that both events had been canceled. Founder Darren Owen said the main investor had failed to meet a funding commitment.

"Our primary investor didn't fulfill his April obligation which has caused some issues however we have a solution in place," Owen told MMA Junkie at the time. "We are likely going to have to launch in June but 100% moving forward."

In a statement on social media, Owen said any athlete could ask for an immediate release. The planned June 2025 dates never happened either, and many of the fighters signed to GFL said they were disappointed and felt misled, MMA Junkie reported.

What comes next

The Nevada decision does not mean an event is booked. GFL has not announced a date, venue or fight card, and under the terms described by MMA Junkie, it would have to go back to the commission before staging anything bigger than a trial-sized show.