Jorge Masvidal's ready for a new challenge following a successful transition from fighter to boxing promoter. The MMA star will go from putting on boxing events to bare-knuckle fights on May 5. His event will feature various MMA stars, with Roy Nelson vs. Dillon Cleckler as the main event.
Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA is inside the FLA Live Arena in Florida, close to Masvidal’s home in Miami.
Nelson, a 2005 gold medalist in the Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships, turned pro in 2004. An IFL heavyweight champion, "Big Country" joined the UFC in 2009 and beat Brendan Schaub to win The Ultimate Fighter 10. He went 8-10 with the UFC, joined Bellator in 2018, and went 0-5 with that promotion. His last fight was a unanimous decision loss against Valentin Moldavsky in 2020.
The 46-year-old faces combat sports veteran Cleckler. Turning pro in 2012, Cleckler went 11-1 in MMA action, ending his run in 2019 on a two-fight win streak. He later transitioned to bare-knuckle fighting, where he was 3-1 for BKFC. “Bad Boy” last fought in April, beating Josh Burns for Masvidal's Gamebred Boxing promotion.
“Dillon has a little extra advantage with his experience in bare-knuckle,” Nelson said. “But the way I look at it is that you never know what type of fight you’re going to get into. This is more like a real-life fight. Bareknuckle is making combat sports even more exciting.”
“Bareknuckle definitely makes you turn up the heat,” Cleckler said. “I don’t know if it gives me much of an advantage that I’ve fought bare-knuckle before. Because you can’t really practice or train for how it’s gonna feel in there… You don’t really have a choice but to be prepared to fight on the ground. If that big guy wants to take me to the ground, we’re probably going to go there. So I’m prepared for everything.
Here is all you need to know about Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, from time, channel, and card.
How to watch Jorge Masvidal’s Bare Knuckle MMA
| Country | Date | Channel + Live Stream (main card) |
| United States/ Canada | Fri. May 5 | YouTube, Facebook |
| United Kingdom | Sat. May 6 | TBA |
| Australia | Sat. May 6 | TBA |
The main card of the Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA fight will be available via Jorge Masvidal’s Youtube and Facebook pages and the Gambred Promotions YouTube and Gamebred FC Facebook pages.
When is Jorge Masvidal’s Bare Knuckle MMA?
- Date: Friday, May 5 | Saturday, May 6
- Start time: 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT | 1 a.m. BST | 10 a.m. AEST
- Main event: 11:30 p.m. ET | 8:30 p.m. ET. | 4:30 a.m. BST | 1:30 p.m. AEST (approx.)
Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA starts on May 5. The main card is at 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT | 1 a.m. BST | 10 a.m. AEST. Nelson and Cleckler should enter the ring around 11:30 p.m. ET | 8:30 p.m. ET. | 4:30 a.m. BST | 1:30 p.m. AEST, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
Where is Jorge Masvidal’s Bare Knuckle MMA?
The event will be inside FLA Live Arena in Florida. Home to the Florida Panthers, the arena can hold up to 20,000 people.
Jorge Masvidal’s Bare Knuckle MMA fight card
- Roy Nelson vs. Dillon Cleckler
- Emiliano Sordi vs. Markus Perez
- Jonathan Tuck vs. Handesson Ferreira
- Joseph Penafiel vs. Irwin Rivera
- Jamahl Tatum vs. Carl Seumanutafa
- Anthony Njokuani vs. James Freeman
- Darion Abbey vs. Frank Tate
- Charles Bennett vs. Keith Speed
- Fidel Paulino vs. Alexander Schenk
- Juan Alvarez vs. Ryan Kuse