

Karolina Owczarz and Mariusz Książkiewicz were selected in the GFL organization’s player draftee and will represent Team London at this year’s galas.
The Global Fight League organization’s draft was held over the weekend. The pool of fighters was huge at nearly 500, with managers and coaches deciding which fighters they would use on their teams.
The draft in MMA is a brand new thing however, fans of sports such as the NBA basketball league, the NFL American soccer league, or other similar sports games from the US should be familiar with how player selection works.
Simplifying for the GFL, six teams: Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Sao Paulo had the option of selecting one player or player each in 20 rounds. Presented as Team London, the team will be managed by Luke Barnatt and coach Carl Prince of the Manchester Top Team.
Luke Barnatt is a former MMA fighter who is well known in Poland for his fight with Mamed Khalidov and his trilogy with Karol Celinski. The Englishman has also fought such fighters as Scott Askham and Sean Strickland. The 37-year-old Barnatt, however, will not be in GFL to fight, but to manage the team.
Karolina Owczarz and Mariusz Książkiewicz have been selected by Team London and will represent the team in 2025. Owczarz is known for her performances in KSW, while Książkiewicz, although born in Germany and living in Canada, has not forgotten his Polish roots and is nicknamed Zelazny Polak.

Looking at the team selected by Barnatt and coach Prince, it is easy to see that the majority of the team is made up of Islanders, with Norman Parke, also well known in Poland for his appearances in KSW and at freak galas.
The team is mainly made up of Europeans, among whom the English and the Shevons lead the way, while it is impossible not to notice reinforcements from Canada or an American native in the form of Benson Henderson. Bendo is next to Alexander Gustafsson and Gegard Mousasi the most famous fighter of the London team.
On paper, the London team should compete for the team victory with strong teams from Dubai and Sao Paulo. Since this is not an individual competition but a team one, and each team includes 6 ladies it is hard to make a final judgment and many surprises should be expected, especially since some of the veterans are really quite old.