Tony Ferguson’s downward trajectory in the UFC has been both painful and profound. Once a dynamic, unstoppable lightweight (with a 12-fight winning streak) who terrorized opponents with his unorthodox striking and forward pressure, Ferguson has transformed into a shadow of his former self. His eight-fight losing skid wasn’t just a statistical anomaly, but a stark testament to the brutal, unforgiving nature of MMA. Despite passionate fans’ hopes that he would retire with dignity, the former 155lbs interim champ has continued to compete, seemingly unable to recognize his diminishing capabilities.

And even Ferguson’s strongest fans will admit that he should be walking into the sunset. It is safe to say that the former interim UFC champ cannot win a fight to save his life anymore. Cut from the UFC last year, fans were hoping the Mexican-American would finally hang it up. But Ferguson isn’t done. Shortly after leaving the UFC, ‘El Cucuy’ announced that he was joining the Global Fight League (GFL), an upcoming MMA promotion that is set to put on its first card this April.

And Brendan Schaub, who is a commentator in the promotion, revealed what Ferguson’s next moves would be. “Speak of the old guys you, what is that league [the GFL] you are with?” UFC legend Matt Serra asked Schaub on the UFC 312 Fight Companion episode of the Joe Rogan Experience. To which Schaub confirmed that he was “commentating for them.”

This intrigued Rogan, who tried to wonder regarding his question about how the fledgling promotion had managed to attract so many older and retired UFC fighters (whom we will discuss a bit more in-depth later). “So they’re throwing a lot of money around, right? Is that how they got guys like [former UFC middleweight champion Chris] Weidman, all these guys to come out of retirement?” Rogan asked rhetorically before asking the logical next question. “Who’s fighting? What are the people that are fighting?” 

And Schaub, a GFL insider, confirmed the rumors that their first card this year would be headlined by Tony Ferguson and Dillon Danis. “The main fight that I’m told is Dillon Danis-Tony Ferguson,” Schaub said. Danis, of course, along with being a professional troll, and trying his hand at celebrity boxing, used to fight in Bellator and has a pro MMA record of 2-0.

While Danis, just like his student Conor McGregor hasn’t fought in the cage for over 5 years, his name recognition and marketing skills are seemingly good enough to secure him a headlining role on the GFL’s first-ever card. But Rogan was far more impressed with the type of talent (even if past their prime) that the GFL has been able to attract.

“Oh my God Shogun’s back, Fabricio Werdum is back I thought Fabricio retired,” Rogan exclaimed. But these are just a few of the MMA stars that the promotion, which has a unique team-based model, has signed. Let’s have a closer look at GFL’s roster.

Tony Ferguson is just one of many big veteran MMA names signed by GFL

The GFL has a very different model than the UFC and indeed any of the other existing MMA promotions. The promotion has six teams from six cities- Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Sao Paulo, London, and Abu Dhabi. These teams have been chosen by a draft by the team’s coach and manager. Cain Velasquez and Javier Mendez are the respective manager and coach duo for Team Dubai and have drafted Tyron Woodley, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, Derek Brunson, and Luke Rockhold, among others, to the team.

Team LA is led by Wanderlei Silva and Rafael Cordeiro and features the likes of Sage Northcutt, Aspen Ladd, Tony Ferguson, and Urijah Faber as fighters. Team Miami has its fair share of stars, too with Junior dos Santos, Anthony Pettis, Yoel Romero, and Thiago Santos drafted in it. The team will be led by manager Thiago Alves and coach Conan Silveira.

The last Amercian team- Team New York has drafted Kevin Lee, Chris Weidman, Holly Holm, Dillon Danis, and Ovince Saint Preux, who will be coached by Ray Longo. Team Sao Paulo, unsurprisingly, features some well-known Brazilian talent like Fabricio Werdum, Douglas Lima, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, and Patricky Pitbull. The Brazilian team will be managed by Lyoto Machida, while Andre Pederneiras will fulfill the coaching duties.

Team London is probably the least stacked, and features the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Alexander Gustafsson, Josefine Knutsson, and Brett Johns. The sole European team in the promotion will be led by Luke Barnatt and Carl Prince as manager and coach respectively. What do you think about Tony Ferguson fighting Dillon Danis on a GFL card this year?