Jorge Masvidal is promising explosive action in the bare-knuckle heavyweight MMA tournament set to take place under his Gamebred FC banner.
Earlier this week, Masvidal revealed that Gamebred FC will return with 16-man tournaments in both the lightweight and heavyweight divisions, each featuring a $500,000 prize pool and slated to commence on April 10 at the Ovalo Feria Ganadera in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The first bare-knuckle MMA card is expected to be headlined by former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith taking on fellow UFC veteran Chase Sherman, which will launch the heavyweight tournament set to take place throughout 2026.
Additionally, Jorge Masvidal announced that a second event is already in the works for May 1 and is scheduled for Miami, Florida.
Additional bouts announced so far feature Guto Inocente vs. Mohammed Usman, Todd Duffee vs. Bruno Cappelozza, and , Alexandr Romanov vs. Nikolay Kovalenko with the remaining four heavyweight matchups expected to be revealed in the near future.
Jorge Masvidal Breaks Down Why Gamebred FC Heavyweight Tournament Will Top Traditional MMA Cards
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Jorge Masvidal spoke about his ambitious plans for Gamebred FC’s heavyweight tournament, vowing that the promotion’s cards will deliver more action than traditional MMA events, as the bare-knuckle format fundamentally changes the dynamics of a fight.
What I love about it is that when it hits the ground, we have statistically more submissions per event than when I’ve had events that are gloved, or even other big promotions when they’re gloved,” Jorge Masvidal said. “You don’t have that extra padding, so the hands get into places a lot easier, and your lock is a lot less compromised when it’s your own hands. You’ve got a better grip, and you can really bite down on that lock, and that’s a big part of finishing a submission. Sometimes a guy will get his back taken, and in gloves he can just grab a glove and chill for a little bit. You can’t do that with no gloves.”
“Gamebred” also noted that the bare-knuckle format would create more submission opportunities, leading to greater excitement even when the fight goes to the ground.
They slip like blankets. You get to that position, and the guys are quickly re-attacking. When the fight hits the floor, I still got the audience tuned in heavy. They’re looking for that submission because they know it could end at any moment too, because if you’re on top of a guy and you just touch him bare-knuckle, there goes the eye as well. The action doesn’t stop. We haven’t had too many boring fights.”
