Jorge Masvidal explains why Bare Knuckle MMA will be a knockout with fans

Jorge Masvidal explains why Bare Knuckle MMA will be a knockout with fans

Jorge Masvidal didn't have time to enjoy retirement. He has already made the transition to life after the Octagon.

Following his loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287, Masvidal made his announcement inside the Octagon. It was the right time - it was his fourth straight loss after defeating Nate Diaz to win the "BMF belt" at UFC 244 - and doing it in front of his hometown Miami crowd was the right place, too.

Although he will no longer be headlining any further events, Masvidal will now create the fight cards in his new full-time role as fight promoter. The latest episode of Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA — which he calls “the most violent show in the world” — falls on Cinco de Mayo. According to Masvidal, Gamebred MMA is the first and only professional bareknuckle MMA league in the United States. The fights at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, FL will also be the first-ever sanctioned bareknuckle MMA fights in the state.

It is the fourth Gamebred battle map, the others previously being held in Biloxi, MS. According to the promotion, Gamebred MMA will follow the Unified Rules of MMA, but of course without gloves, with all fights being three five-minute rounds.

Headlining the card will be former UFC veteran and Bellator heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs. Dillon “Bad Boy” Cleckler. Also on the card are two ex-UFC stars: PFL light heavyweight champion Emiliano Sordi vs. Markus Perez. The entire Gamebred map will be streamed live on Masvidal's YouTube and Facebook pages starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. (It will also stream on Gamebred Promotions' YouTube and Facebook pages). The entire map includes:

• Roy Nelson gegen Dillon Cleckler
• Emiliano Sordi gegen Markus Perez
• Donovan Beard gegen Handesson Ferreira
• Joe Penefeil gegen Irwin Rivera
• Jamahl Tatum gegen Carl Seumanutafa
• Sean Soriano gegen Ago Huskic
• Anthony Njokuani gegen James Freeman
• Darion Abbey gegen Frank Tate
• Charles Bennett gegen Keith Speed
• Fidel Paulino gegen Alexander Schenk
• Juan Alvarez gegen Chris Wingate
• Ryan Kuse gegen Drew Morais

This will be the fourth Gamebred Bareknuckle event, with the first taking place in May 2021 in Biloxi, MX. with doors opening at 5:00 p.m. EST on the day of. Fans can also tune in with the first fight starting at 6:00 p.m. EST and the main card starting at 8:00 p.m. EST.

With the card due in just a few days, the newly retired MMF champion explains to M&F what it will take to make Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA an organization that will continue to attract top talent well into the future.

Was there any hesitation in announcing your retirement after UFC TK?

You know, I said to my coach, "Cut the gloves off," and he said, "No, don't. Just wait." I thought this is where it started, this is where it should end, my city [Miami]. Let's do it like this. Gilbert was a great fighter, but I feel in my prime I could have beaten him. But I just don't have the same motor speed from mind to body. So if I can't fight at the professional level with the best in the world, what do I do? There are a lot of guys I could beat up for days, but I signed up to fight the best in the world and I can't play at that top speed anymore.

So what will make Jorge Masvidal the best promoter in the game?

There are a lot of great promoters, but I'm going to be different than everyone else because I'm one of the few who has actually fought in all phases - I've worn every hat there is to wear in a fight, from corner man to sparring partner, training partner. I did guys professional business, you know, so I was like an unofficial manager to a lot of friends in the sport.

Leveling up is one of the things I like the most - my first thing I liked the most was obviously the competition, the fighting. The second thing I liked the most is the promotion. I'll take off with my own different route and sauce.

None of these promoters have that, and you can see that happening because I have a different mindset. I have other visions in my eyes that I see from my 20 years of providing things that I want to fix on the professional fighting side, things that don't mean anything that I might have liked a little more attention to.

So why bare knuckles?

I get this question often. I started with Bare Knuckle - a lot of people were excited about me with Bare Knuckle for the first time. So I always felt like I wanted to start a bare knuckle league and see how it would go, there's no such thing as bare knuckle MMA. And if you're talking about the closest thing to that, a fight in real life, that's pretty much it. And it's not just for strikers, but also for grappling, because now you don't have those big, bulky gloves on the pad that kind of mess you up. So even for grapplers it's more realistic to actual combat and I just love it. At the end of the day, when you take the gloves off, whether it's a knockout or a submission, the rankings go through the roof.

Is everyone ready for bare knuckle fighting? Is it as brutal as the name suggests?

It might even be worse than it sounds. If you don't like that then I get it, you can go, there are 100 other sports you might like, you know, but that's what it is, that determination and desire - and violence. So in the beginning it won't be for everyone to buy, it will slowly catch on,

Is the world big enough for another fighting league?

Definitely, especially one like mine. You're looking at the No. 1 promoter in the world, Dana White. The No. 2 advertiser doesn't have social media followers like Dana White. So I'm just going to flood everyone when it comes to attracting fight fans. Some of them may just be fans of me because of political views or things I've done, but for the most part, about 85% of my audience are fight fans. So when you talk about promotion, it's like no one in that field messes with me. Except of course Dana White, who is the king of promotion kings.

How do you sell your league to fighters?

We talked to their team and put some numbers on paper, and once we agree, the next step is to put them on paper to implement them.

You know, a lot of these fighters also know that I have a good reputation - I've been fighting in real combat for 20 years and they know the platform that I bring. They know we're going to bring as many eyeballs to the sport as possible.

Was a Cinco De Mayo fight card intentional?

Oh yes. Our fight will be a sort of prelude to Formula 1, which is taking place here in South Florida [this weekend]. It's like welcoming F1 to South Florida with a bang. We have Big Country, Roy Nelson – 19 finishes, 16 of them by knockout – against Dillon Cleckler. We also have some other big boys on the show. We're pumped.