Ex-UFC fighter makes eye-opening remarks about GFL signing Paige VanZant, slams MMA promotion for unrealistic financial promises

A former UFC fighter recently expressed his opinions after learning about Paige VanZant's signing with a new MMA promotion. The former lightweight also bashed the promotional for their far-fetched announcements about financial matters.

To date, VanZant has performed in several forms of combat sports under several promotions. She began her pro-MMA career in 2012 and entered the UFC in 2014. VanZant left the UFC with a 5-4 record in her nine fights to compete in a few other sports, including slap fighting. Her last venture was the slap fight against Chelsea Dodson in Power Slap on Oct. 22, 2024.

VanZant recently announced her signing with the new MMA promotion, Global Fighters League on the platform of her podcast, A Kickass Love Story. She also detailed how the GFL authorities were ready to sign "anybody and everybody" who had made a name in the field of MMA.

Josh Thompson, a former UFC lightweight, Josh Thomson's, commented on VanZant's signing with the GFL saying he didn't see it as a pretty profitable venture. Initially, he mentioned how the GFL didn't have any financing partners. Thomson also explained how they would rely on the signed contracts to collect money for their operations:

"They’re basically signing these fighters, I don’t know if there’s any pay coming out of them. Some of them, I think, have got a little bit of money to sign, but only to see if they are available and ready to sign in terms of a contract. So that they can take those contracts to sponsors [and] to people that are ready to [invest], to raise capital for this."

Thomson also derided the GFL's claims to spend some staggering amount of money within the first year of their existence:

"What I have heard is they came out with some astronomical amount of money they said they were gonna spend in their first year. Like $550 million...or maybe it's $250 million. That's crazy and I'm like, that's one way to go out of business."

Check out Josh Thomson's comments below (38:55):

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Paige VaZant says a few more perks Global Fighters League will have for fighters that the UFC doesn't have

Paige VanZant went into some more details about the terms of her signing with the Global Fighters' League in the episode of her podcast, A Kickass Love Story. She mentioned that a few other perks offered by the GPL authorities also attracted her apart from the healthy payouts they promised from her fights.

VanZant highlighted that the GPL authorities would possibly provide fighters with a pension plan and health insurance benefits which even the UFC doesn't. She said:

"Everybody I’ve heard who negotiated their contract so far [with the GFL] is extremely excited and happy. I also saw that, which I don’t know the logistics behind the scenes, but they’re doing like a pension fund for the fighters, and I think health insurance."

Check out VanZant's words below (24:09)