Kevin
Lee was just one of a number of prominent names the
Global Fight League used to promote its launch.
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However, the fledgling promotion never got off the ground, canceling its first two announced events that
were scheduled for last month. Lee, who recently signed with the
Professional Fighters League, hasn’t forgotten about the GFL’s
inability to follow through on promises that were made.
“These last maybe 12 months or so we were in pretty heavy talks
with GFL,” Lee said during an interview on “MMA Today” on Sirus XM.
“They were supposed to be the new startup promotion. They were
supposed to be the next big thing, and I got behind them pretty
good. The talks were great, but there wasn’t no action behind
it.
“I can’t speak too too much because on the situation, because now
we’re going through legal and I’ll be suing them for some
defamation, plus some extortion. I think that they used guys like
me and used our name in order to get out there and be a major face
of the MMA promotion business and nothing ever came from it.”
The GFL made a splash when it initially announced its launch and
team-based format featuring numerous former UFC and Bellator
champions. The promotion even held a draft and
revealed a pair of star-studded cards for May 24 and May 25 in
Los Angeles. However, those cards were scrapped, which GFL founder
Darren Owen blamed on an investor who failed to fulfill his
obligation. Owen initially claimed that the promotion would move
forward with events targeted for June, but there has been no update
on the GFL’s status since the cancellation of its first two
cards.
Lee, meanwhile, will get a chance to make a splash in his PFL debut
when he faces Gadzi Rabadanov in the semifinals of the league’s
lightweight tournament on June 20. Rabadanov is the 2024 PFL
champion and is in the midst of an 11-bout professional winning
streak that dates back to 2021.
“Some people think that the UFC is the be-all, end-all and those
are the best fighters, but this guy’s a very, very top competitor,”
Lee said. “So once I go out there, and I beat him on June
20, I’m going to show that I’m still one of the best lightweights
in the world.
“I feel a lot of people have written me off. A lot of people either
forget or they just write me off. They think – I don’t know what
they think, but it doesn’t really matter to me. I see people
doubting me, I hope they continue to doubt me, I hope they continue
to write me off, to not think about it, and I’m going to show them
in a big way on June 20 when I go out there and stomp a lightweight
that’s been proving himself again and again. Once I stop him in the
way that I can, I’m going to show that I’m still one of the top
lightweights, just like I was a few years ago.”