Junior Dos Santos vs. Fabricio Werdum headlines Gamebred Bareknuckle 5

Junior Dos Santos added Fabricio Werdum to his highlight reel when he made his UFC debut in 2008. Fifteen years later, Werdum will get a chance to avenge that loss with bare fists.

Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 features a rematch between the former heavyweight champions as they square off in a main event at VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. – a regular UFC venue following the pandemic – on Sept. 8.

Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news of the main event.

The heavyweight booking marks the bare-knuckle debut for Werdum and Dos Santos, who’ve both sat on the sidelines in semi-retirement after MMA appearances in, respectively, in 2021 and 2022.

Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 will stream live via online pay-per-view. As before, the fights are full MMA rules sans gloves, merging MMA and the burgeoning sport of bare-knuckle boxing.

Masvidal and co. have enlisted a bevy of talent in support of the headliner, including former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao, who will return to the cage as a featherweight four years after his fourth straight UFC loss triggered his release from the promotion. The Brazilian ex-champ signed with several upstart promotions and saw fight after fight cancelled.

Here is the current card for Gamebred Bareknuckle 5: