"Tough pill for me to swallow" - Ex-UFC fighter who broke Anderson Silva's leg reveals motivation behind GFL signing, addresses "elephant in the room"

A former UFC fighter who once broke Anderson Silva's leg recently opened up about signing with GFL. The individual stated that joining GFL provided an opportunity for him to avenge his previous losses.

The person in question is former middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who joined the New York team as the seventh pick in the second round of the first-ever Global Fight League (GFL) draft.

With its revolutionary weight classes, fighter-centric model, and team-based structure, the GFL promises to transform MMA. In its inaugural draft, the league selected 120 fighters to form six teams, as the competition is scheduled to debut in April 2025.

During the GFL broadcast, Weidman expressed his thoughts on joining a new organization. Many MMA fans were surprised by the 40-year-old's decision as he announced his retirement from the sport earlier this month.

Clearing the air about his previous retirement announcement, Weidman stated:

''The elephant in the room is I just retired from the UFC. A lot of people thought I was done fighting. I didn’t know. I thought maybe I am done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but it had to be good.''

Weidman continued:

''This is a league where there’s a lot of guys that I have a history with. You’ve got Luke Rockhold, you’ve got Gegard Mousasi, you’ve got Uriah Hall. Rockhold was my first loss ever. That was a tough pill for me to swallow. We were supposed to rematch a bunch of times in UFC, but it never happened...I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money. It’s not something I really feel like I can say no to. It’s really an exciting time for me.”

Check out Chris Weidman's comments below (2:34:13):

In his most recent octagon outing at UFC 310, Weidman suffered a second-round knockout defeat against Eryk Anders. After a lengthy career in the UFC, 'The All-American' announced his retirement during the UFC 311 weigh-in show.

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Tony Ferguson joins GFL

Following an eight-fight losing skid, UFC veteran and former interim champion Tony Ferguson has signed with the Global Fight League (GFL). In his last octagon appearance at UFC Abu Dhabi last year, Ferguson suffered an opening-round submission defeat against Michael Chiesa.

GFL took to social media and announced 'El Cucuy's joining, writing:

@tonyfergusonxt signs with the Global Fight League."

Check out the Instagram post below:

Along with Ferguson, the newly formed MMA organization has also signed veteran fighters like Luke Rockhold, Chris Weidman, Yoel Romero, Tyron Woodley, and many more.