Las Vegas, NV — Jorge Masvidal seems to jump from one big main event to another these days.
Retiring from mixed martial arts earlier this year, fan favorite “Gamebred” has focused on his promotional efforts of late, with his name attached to a trio of promotions. The Florida-based star has Gamebred Bareknuckle 5, a bareknuckle MMA event, coming up in September, headlined by Junior Dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum.
Prior to that, it was Roy “Big Country” Nelson starching Dillion Clecker in the previous Gamebred Bareknuckle card. And before that, there was Gamebred Boxing 4, featuring Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anthony Pettis.
“Gamebred” doesn’t seem to know how to do things low-key, but that’s out of necessity, he told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview.
“We have to. I think that’s what it’s all about, not just for the fanbase and for the company branding, but for all involved, as a company to stay in competition with all the rest. The task force ain’t easy,” Masvidal explained. “The amount of work we have to put in here to stay relevant isn’t easy. We’ve got a lot of good promotions out there with good teams running a solid product. And this is America, capitalism, right? Whoever is doing it better, more efficient, is going to win.”
With that in mind, “we’re trying to always consecutively put on the most violent fights we possibly can and keep everybody at the edge of their seat and have this, have dialog about it,” Masvidal continued. “‘Hey, man I gotta watch that fight, no matter what I’ve gotta watch that fight.’ Because we’ve got JDS versus Werdum, who’s not gonna watch that fight that knows about MMA?”
There appears to be big things on the horizon for Gamebred’s promotions, on multiple fronts. “Next year we’ll have 12 shows, Gamebred Bareknuckle, just MMA no gloves,” Masvidal revealed.
Gamebred Bareknuckle included, “we got three horses in the race,” Masvidal added. “We’ve got iKon, we’ve got the bareknuckle, and we’ve got boxing, And also, we’re giving our athletes the avenue to fight in any one of these things. If you sign in one promotion, you can fight in any one of the promotions, gloved or boxing.”
Jorge Masvidal’s iKon FC has been airing on UFC Fight Pass, while the most recent Gamebred Bareknuckle card was a Fight Pass exclusive. His boxing label, meanwhile, went to Pay-Per-View for Jones vs. Pettis, and there’s another card coming.
“We’re going to have a boxing event hopefully October, November that we’ll be announcing, it’ll be boxer versus boxer in the main event,” Masvidal told us, adding “It’s going to shake the boxing world.”
Watch our full interview with Jorge Masvidal above. Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 goes down at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL on September 8, 2023.
