Jorge Masvidal has announced a major cash tournament as his bare-knuckle MMA promotion makes its return.
Since stepping away from the cage, the former BMF champion and welterweight contender has turned his attention to promoting, even introducing a glove-free version of MMA. His latest venture is a pair of tournaments, each with a $500,000 prize on offer.
This event will be Masvidal’s first time back in the promotional spotlight since November 2024. Gamebred Bare-Knuckle MMA has put on five events so far, following standard unified rules but without gloves.
Jorge Masvidal is planning two $500,000 bare-knuckle tournaments
Jorge Masvidal told MMAJunkie that he is moving forward with plans to stage two 16-man tournaments, each offering a $500,000 prize. The King of Miami will be bringing together heavyweights and lightweights to compete in the no-gloves format as he steps back into the world of promotion.
“I don’t mind taking the loss [from a smaller gate] for making a huge statement online,” Masvidal said. “We’re giving as much money as we can to the fighters.
“Really, who’s doing anything right now? It’s just worked out perfectly. As I wasn’t able to pump so much GFC, the other shows were kind of dying off.
“And now, I don’t know about these other shows. I haven’t heard a date or anything. So we’re coming in strong these next few years. People are going to have to move aside, brother.”
Anthony Smith to return in Jorge Masvidal’s tournament
Anthony Smith is set to come out of retirement less than a year after hanging up his gloves. He’ll take on former UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman at the event on April 10. Smith had received an emotional farewell from the sport’s top promotion, but it didn’t take long for him to feel the urge to step back into competition.
In addition to that matchup, Guto Inocente is lined up to face Mohammed Usman, despite being under suspension for a positive drug test. The rest of the card includes Alexandr Romanov vs Nikolay Kovalenko and Todd Duffee vs Bruno Cappelozza.
The remaining four heavyweight contests are expected to be finalised soon, along with all eight lightweight pairings.
Read more: