The Global Fight League (GFL) announced a pair of fights on Thursday afternoon, and added one more later in the day: a middleweight showdown between UFC veteran Uriah Hall, and former Bellator MMA welterweight champ Douglas Lima.
GFL officials announced the booking via social media, though no date, location, or venue for the fight have been revealed. While the league is expected to launch in April, in an appearance on The Fighter and the Kid podcast on that was posted on Thursday, founder Darren Owen clarified that late April or early May could be in play.
Uriah Hall (17-11) has dabbled in boxing since exiting the UFC in July of 2022, going 1-1 in the sweet science. That run included a win over former NFL’er Le’Veon Bell, and a loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The Lima match-up will mark his return to the cage.
Douglas Lima (33-12) was last seen fighting in a losing effort against Canada’s Aaron Jeffery, under the Bellator Champions Series banner in September. Bellator, purchased by rival PFL over a year ago now, has now ceased operation as a separate brand, with fighters either competing in the PFL, or released.
Lima has just a single win since 2019, a decision against Costello van Steenis. Despite his best days coming at welterweight, he’s no stranger to 185lbs, having fought Gegard Mousasi for Bellator’s middleweight crown in 2020. The van Steenis and Jeffery fights also took place in the middleweight division.
