Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber, Anthony Pettis vs. Benson Henderson trilogies land atop GFL's L.A. cards

MMA fans still have to wait a couple months before judging the first Global Fight League events. But if they’re combat sports autograph hounds, they might have reason to be excited about the fledgling promotion’s events in Los Angeles.

The GFL will set up shop at Shrine Auditorium in L.A. on May 24-25. Each night currently has 15 fights planned, according to Tapology. The promotion has not yet made a formal announcement of the cards, but they’re heavy with former UFC and Bellator champions and title challengers.

A pair of trilogies are at the top of the bill May 24. Multi-time UFC title challenger and former WEC champ Urijah Faber will fight former UFC interim bantamweight champ Renan Barao for a third time. Faber lost an interim title fight to Barao at UFC 149 in 2012. Four wins later, he had another shot at him, but was knocked out in the first round.

Faber retired in 2019. Barao has lost six straight fights and eight of his past nine. He returned in 2023 after nearly four years away and lost a split decision to a regional fighter at an event in Kuwait.

In the GFL’s team system, Faber was drafted by Team Los Angeles. Barao is a member of Team Sao Paulo. L.A.’s other bantamweight is former UFC title challenger Ray Borg; Sao Paulo’s other 135er is ex-UFC standout Raphael Assuncao.

Also on that bill is a trilogy fight between former UFC and WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis and ex-UFC and WEC 155-pound titleholder Benson Henderson. Pettis beat Henderson in the final fight in WEC history to win the lightweight title in 2010. Less than three years later, he pulled off MMA’s consensus Submission of the Year to take a belt from Henderson again – that time in the UFC.

Pettis signed with the PFL in 2021, but lost four of his five fights there and was a high-profile signee who didn’t pan out. Henderson left the UFC for Bellator in 2016 and had a lengthy tenure there, but lost three title shots at welterweight and lightweight, including to Usman Nurmagomedov in what was Bellator’s final card before it was purchased and shelved by the PFL.

Pettis was drafted by Team Miami. Henderson fights for Team London. In the PFL’s team system, fighters score points each bout. A finish win is worth 4, a decision win is 3, a draw is 2, a decision loss is 1 – and if you’re stopped, yourself, your team gets 0 points.

There is no shortage of high-impact names throughout the rest of the card who have made major MMA accomplishments, as well as some unique matchups.

The current lineups include:

GFL Los Angeles, May 24

• Urijah Faber (LA) vs. Renan Barao (SP)
• Anthony Pettis (MIA) vs. Benson Henderson (LON)
• Holly Holm (NY) vs. Julia Budd (LON)
• Chad Mendes (LA) vs. Maike Linhares (SP)
• Derek Brunson (DUB) vs. Omari Akhmedov (DUB)
• Sage Northcutt (LA) vs. Lucas Martins (SP)
• Marlon Moraes (MIA) vs. Ray Borg (LA)
• Aspen Ladd (LA) vs. Alejandra Lara (SP)
• Robelis Despaigne (MIA) vs. Todd Duffee (DUB)
• Cat Zingano (MIA) vs. Alexa Conners (DUB)
• Neiman Gracie (NY) vs. Danny Roberts (LON)
• Jessica Penne (LA) vs. Joice Mara (SP)
• Charles Rosa (MIA) vs. Khumoyun Tukhtamuradov (DUB)
• Marisa Messer-Belenchia (NY) vs. Kelly Staddon (LON)
• Gleison Tibau (MIA) vs. Alex Oliveira (SP)

GFL Los Angeles, May 25

• Tony Ferguson (LA) vs. Dillon Danis (NY)
• Ovince Saint Preux (NY) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (LON)
• Uriah Hall (LA) vs. Douglas Lima (SP)
• Paige VanZant (MIA) vs. Randi Field (DUB)
• Louis Glisman (LA) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov (DUB)
• Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (LA) vs. Viviane Pereira (SP)
• Alan Belcher (NY) vs. Stuart Austin (LON)
• Thiago Santos (MIA) vs. Devin Clark (NY)
• Lorenz Larkin (LA) vs. Carlos Petruzzella (SP)
• Jimmie Rivera (NY) vs. Cameron Else (LON)
• Natasha Kuziutina (MIA) vs. Jessica Aguilar (DUB)
• Phil Hawes (NY) vs. Grant Neal (LA)
• Kai Kamaka III (NY) vs. Mike Grundy (LON)
• Da Woon Jung (LA) vs. Ronny Markes (DUB)
• Miao Ding (NY) vs. Josefine Knutsson (LON)