Two days out from a bareknuckle battle between former UFC heavyweight champions Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum, Gamebred Boxing promoter Jorge Masvidal has announced elevated stakes.
Dos Santos and Werdum will meet in a gloveless MMA fight Friday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The winner, Masvidal revealed at a news conference Wednesday, will face the winner of another heavyweight bareknuckle MMA fight, Alan Belcher vs. Roy Nelson, freshly minted for an Oct. 28 show at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss.
Nelson vs. Belcher will be for the promotion’s heavyweight title. No other fights have been announced for the Oct. 28 event at this time.
“The winner of that will face the winner of this sometime in January, we’re hopeful,” Masvidal said. “Hard Rock Stadium. Hard Rock Casino. We’ll keep these guys busy, just as we promised them. That’s f*cking huge news. We’re excited.”
Masvidal also revealed plans to hold an event in December.
Nelson headlined a Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA event in May when he knocked out bareknuckle boxing standout Dillon Cleckler in Round 1. The competition was Nelson’s first since his Bellator departure in late 2020. Nelson competed in the UFC from 2010-2017 and compiled a 9-10 promotional record.
In joining Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, Belcher has departed BKFC, a promotion he was a part of since 2021. Belcher competed in the UFC from 2006-2013 and compiled a 9-6 promotional record, largely at middleweight. After eight years away from competition, Belcher returned as a heavyweight and has yet to lose. Belcher was 4-0 under the BKFC banner while also competing outside the promotion in traditional boxing where he won five pro bout and one exhibition.
