{"id":488282,"date":"2026-02-18T16:53:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/488282\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:53:11","slug":"jorge-masvidal-explains-why-bare-knuckle-mma-hits-different","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/488282\/","title":{"rendered":"Jorge Masvidal Explains Why Bare\u2011Knuckle MMA Hits Different"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jorge Masvidal<\/a> believes Gamebred FC\u2019s new bare\u2011knuckle MMA tournaments will stand out in a crowded market by leaning into chaos, submissions and big\u2011name heavyweights willing to fight without gloves.<\/p>\n

Masvidal<\/a> explained that bare\u2011knuckle changes the risk at every range, stressing that \u201cheavyweights already, one shot puts you out, but it gets even more exciting when it\u2019s bare knuckle.\u201d He said the lack of padding not only boosts knockout potential but also transforms grappling, claiming Gamebred events deliver \u201cstatistically more submissions per event\u201d than his gloved shows and \u201ceven other big promotions when they\u2019re gloved.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gamebred Jorge Masvidal\u2019s Bare\u2011Knuckle Vision: Heavyweight Chaos, Big Names and Serious Prize Money<\/p>\n

With no foam to block grip<\/a>, \u201cthe hands get into places a lot easier\u201d and \u201cyour lock is a lot less compromised when it\u2019s your own hands,\u201d which he says lets fighters \u201creally bite down on that lock\u201d to finish submissions. Masvidal contrasted this with traditional MMA, where a fighter with their back taken can \u201cjust grab a glove and chill for a little bit,\u201d adding that in bare\u2011knuckle MMA \u201cthey slip like blankets\u201d and defenders cannot stall in bad positions. <\/p>\n

As a result, he says fans stay engaged on the mat because \u201cthey\u2019re looking for that submission\u201d and know \u201cit could end at any moment,\u201d whether from a choke or from \u201cjust touch[ing] him bare knuckle\u201d on top and damaging sensitive areas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The launch centerpiece is a 16\u2011man heavyweight tournament that begins April 10 in the Dominican Republic, streamed \u201clive and free\u201d on Masvidal\u2019s YouTube and Facebook channels. The opening card features five heavyweight bouts, headlined by former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith against Gamebred staple Chase \u201cThe Terminator\u201d Sherman in full MMA, \u201csame rules as the UFC or any major promotion \u2013 just no gloves.\u201d <\/p>\n

Masvidal called Smith \u201ca legit bad [expletive]\u201d who has fought \u201cone of the world\u2019s greatest ever to do it\u201d and said going bare\u2011knuckle is \u201cold school\u201d and \u201cthe roots\u201d for him. Sherman, meanwhile, is described as \u201cborn for bare knuckle\u201d with a chin that means \u201cyou just can\u2019t put him away, man.\u201d <\/p>\n

Another key bracket fight pits Brazilian veteran Guto Inocente, whom Masvidal labeled an \u201cold school legend\u201d and \u201crelic and a gem,\u201d against former UFC fighter Mohammed Usman, who was recently released and brings what Masvidal called \u201canother specimen, another physical monster\u201d into his first bare\u2011knuckle appearance. He recalled Inocente\u2019s last Gamebred outing, where the Brazilian was kept at range by a tall, rangy three\u2011time Brazilian national champion before \u201con one of those, G just caught him, turned his lights off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

International heavyweights are part of the field as well, including Alexander Romanov versus Russian judo standout Nikolai Kovalev, an Olympic alternate with \u201creally really good judo\u201d and \u201creally really good hands.\u201d Masvidal said Romanov is \u201cmauling guys\u201d with pressure and throws, and that the matchmakers expect their grappling to \u201ccancel out\u201d and produce \u201ca war\u201d on the feet, while still offering \u201csome of the most exciting grappling\u201d at heavyweight if they clinch<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Beyond the big men, Gamebred will run a parallel lightweight tournament later in the year, with Masvidal saying they already have \u201cabout seven UFC veterans, three PFL veterans, and like five or four Bellator<\/a> alumni\u201d committed.<\/p>\n

From a business standpoint, Masvidal said he and partner Lex McMahon \u201ctook a little pause\u201d while he was \u201cfundraising as much as we possibly could\u201d to support the format, but now plan \u201cfour to five events this year\u201d and \u201csix\u201d in 2027, alternating between the Dominican Republic and Miami. The heavyweight tournament champion is slated to receive \u201c$500,000,\u201d a figure Masvidal called \u201ca working number\u201d that he hopes can grow \u201cone day to be like five million\u201d as the promotion builds. <\/p>\n

\"\"JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA \u2013 APRIL 24: Jorge Masvidal is interviewed after being defeated by Kamaru Usman<\/a> of Nigeria in their UFC welterweight championship bout during the UFC 261 event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on April 24, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Josh Hedges\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

He estimated the current brackets include \u201cabout eight UFC vets, two PFL champions, [and] Bellator veterans,\u201d and argued that by stacking tournaments with \u201cnames from A through Z, from up\u2011and\u2011coming guys to guys like Anthony Smith that have been at the very top of the sport,\u201d Gamebred FC can \u201cturn a lot of heads\u201d among hardcore fans and UFC\u2011focused casuals who may have never seen bare\u2011knuckle MMA before.<\/p>\n

\"JorgeMandatory Credit: Esther Lin \u2013 MMA Fighting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jorge Masvidal believes Gamebred FC\u2019s new bare\u2011knuckle MMA tournaments will stand out in a crowded market by leaning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-488282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}