Former heavyweight champions Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum are set to rematch in a bare-knuckle main event at Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle 5, marking their debut in the sport.
Brazilian mixed martial artist Junior Dos Santos made an impactful UFC debut in 2008 by securing a victory against Fabricio Werdum. Now, after fifteen years, Werdum will get an opportunity to avenge that loss, this time in bare-knuckle boxing. Dos Santos already has a formidable spotlight in his career, and adding Werdum to his victories only enhanced his reputation. Now, the rematch will place Werdum in the position of seeking retribution.
The rematch that pits the two former heavyweight champions against each other is the main event of Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle 5. Scheduled for September 8, the event will be held at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida–a location regularly exercised as a UFC venue in the aftermath of the pandemic. Renowned sports journalist Ariel Helwani was the first to reveal the news of this much-anticipated face-off.
This face-off in the heavyweight division will introduce a new dimension to Werdum and Dos Santos’s rivalry as this is their bare-knuckle debut. Both fighters have been in semi-retirement, appearing sporadically in MMA matches in 2021 and 2022. Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 will stream live through an online pay-per-view system and the matches will follow the standard MMA ruleset except for the exclusion of gloves. This hybrid ruleset brings together elements from MMA and the rapidly growing sport of bare-knuckle boxing.
The former UFC bantamweight champion, Renan Barao, will also be part of the lineup, making a comeback to the cage as a featherweight after a hiatus of four years. Barao’s four consecutive UFC losses led to his release from the franchise and he signed up with several emerging promotions, but faced repeated cancellations of his fights. This event is being geared up with the enlistment of a host of talent to support the main event.