After hitting it big earlier this year by putting Roy Nelson in the Gamebred Bareknuckle 4 main event, Jorge Masvidal has recruited a few more heavyweight stars.
15 years on from their initial match-up in the UFC, Junior Dos Santos (21-10) and Fabricio Werdum (24-9-1, 1NC), both former heavyweight champions, will meet again in the main event of Gamebred Bareknuckle 5.
Promotion officials confirmed the match-up following an initial report by Sherdog.
Werdum had thrown his name in the hat for the Francis Ngannou sweepstakes, with the former UFC heavyweight champion and lineal champ signing on with the PFL earlier this year. “The Predator” isn’t expected to return to the cage until 2024, however, as he pursues a high-profile boxing match. Which gives Werdum times to get back in the win column, after his last fight ended in controversy.
Originally a TKO victory for opponent Renan Ferreira, a review of the footage from their 2023 PFL 3 fight revealed that Ferreira had tapped to a Werdum triangle choke, only for the submission to go unseen by the ref. The result was overturned to a No Contest.
Junior Dos Santos’ most recent fight was not without its own follies. Likely en route to a decision win, JDS suffered an injury in the third round of his Eagle FC fight with Yorgan De Castro last year, losing via TKO.
Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 takes place September 2, 2023 and features the traditional mixed martial arts ruleset — minus gloves.
