Former UFC heavyweight champions Junior Dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum squared off for the final time ahead of their main event fight at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA – and they both appeared to be in great physical shape.
Other UFC alumni present at the faceoffs, set to compete Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., included Brandon Jenkins, Anthony Njokuani, Brandon Davis, Joshua Weems, Irwin Rivera, and Maki Pitolo.
Of course, promoter Jorge Masvidal was on hand, too, as he squared off each pairing of fighters. The event will stream live and free on MMA Junkie.
Dos Santos and Werdum rematch – without gloves – nearly 15 years after they fought one another at UFC 90 in October 2008. As a heavy underdog, Dos Santos knocked out Werdum in 81 seconds and kicked off a run in the promotion that would lead directly to the heavyweight title.
The winner of Saturday’s fight will face the winner of the promotion’s inaugural heavyweight title bout between Roy Nelson and Alan Belcher, which takes place Oct. 28 at a date and location to be announced.
The full Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA lineup includes:
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum
- Joel Bauman vs. Maki Pitolo
- Irwin Rivera vs. Joshua Weems
- Brandon Davis vs. Ago Huskic
- Brandon Jenkins vs. Anthony Njokuani
- Joe Penafiel vs. Joey Ruquet
- Tyler Hill vs. Jhonasky Soto
- Corey Herbert vs. Reggie Northrup
- Juan Alvarez vs. Chase Wingate
- Carlos Guerra vs. Shahzaib Rindh
