Junior Dos Santos added Fabricio Werdum to his highlight reel when he made his UFC debut in 2008. Fifteen years later, Werdum will get a chance to avenge that loss with bare fists.
Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 features a rematch between the former heavyweight champions as they square off in a main event at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. – a regular UFC venue following the pandemic – on Sept. 8.
Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news of the main event.
The heavyweight booking marks the bare-knuckle debut for Werdum and Dos Santos, who’ve both sat on the sidelines in semi-retirement after MMA appearances in, respectively, in 2021 and 2022.
Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 will stream live via online pay-per-view. As before, the fights are full MMA rules sans gloves, merging MMA and the burgeoning sport of bare-knuckle boxing.
Masvidal and co. have enlisted a bevy of talent in support of the headliner, including former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao, who will return to the cage as a featherweight four years after his fourth straight UFC loss triggered his release from the promotion. The Brazilian ex-champ signed with several upstart promotions and saw fight after fight cancelled.
Here is the current card for Gamebred Bareknuckle 5:
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Renan Barao vs. Sean Soriano
- Brandon Jenkins vs. Anthony Njokuani
- Brandon Davis vs. TBD
- Irwin Rivera vs. Joshua Weems
- Eric Perez vs. Joe Penafiel
I am all in for Gamebred Bare knuckle MMA FTW
So Bareknuckle MMA is all good for you but Bareknuckle Boxing and knees to the head on the ground are too “barbaric” for you?
Interesting and unexpected rematch I’ll watch for sure. That last Gamebred Card had a nice throwback fight from Big Country and was pretty entertaining
I’d prefer it to be in normal Mma
JDS would be so dope in BKFC. I can’t think of anyone more built for that.
Banger right here for Gamebred
Definitely and if JDS wins in BK MMA and Rothwell keeps winning in BKFC then that would be another interesting rematch
I think it would be a great move for Derrick Lewis too as his career winds down.
Rothwell is the best heavyweight in BKFC right now and should be fighting for the title.
Who the fuck is paying for this?
Werdum isnt cheap
It airs on YouTube.
Poor Werdumb. He will get another Haruken uppercut. Why not do PFL?
Looks like a still from the next Cocaine Cowboys movie
39 vs 45
10 years past their peaks
5 tko losses in a row for jds
but i’ll still watch
shouldnt go to decision anyway
Fabricio ftw
