Former UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson set to headline Jorge Masvidal’s bareknuckle MMA promotion on May 5
Roy Nelson will be fighting for the first time since 2020.
On Thursday, Jorge Masvidal took to his Instagram to announce he is promoting Gamebred FC – which is a bareknuckle MMA promotion – on May 5 and they have its main event. According to Masvidal, Nelson, who’s 46-years-old, will take on Dillon Cleckler in the headliner from the FLA Live Arena. It also serves as the first sanctioned bareknuckle MMA event in the state of Florida.
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“BREAKING NEWS. I’m backkkkk… to promoting that is! So excited to announce the Florida’s first sanctioned bare knuckle MMA fight! The fight will take place at FLA Live Arena on May 5th! Cinco de Mayo! Watch as some of the best-known fighters from UFC, Bellator, PFL and more step into the ring without gloves for the ultimate test of combat! @gamebredfc @gamebredboxing promotions. Get your tickets at Ticketmaster.com and join us for an unforgettable night of bare knuckle action!! Link in bio,” Masvidal wrote in the caption along with announcing Nelson-Cleckler as the main event.
Roy Nelson (23-19 MMA) is on a five-fight losing skid and suffered a decision loss to Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 244 last time out. Also on the losing skid, he lost to Frank Mir by decision, Mirko Cro Cop by decision, a KO loss to Sergei Kharitonov, and a decision loss to Matt Mitrione. Nelson went 1-5 in Bellator while also going 9-10 in the UFC. Inside the Octagon, Nelson had notable wins over Bigfoot Silva, Matt Mitrione, Cheick Kongo, Stefan Struve, and Brendan Schaub while also winning TUF 10.
Dillon Cleckler (11-1 MMA) has been competing in boxing and BKFC as of late and beat Josh Burns by first-round KO at Gamebred Boxing 4 on April 1. Before that, he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Arnold Adams at BKFC 25 for the heavyweight title. In MMA, his lone loss came by knockout to Alex Nicholson in 2015.
Who do you think will win, Roy Nelson or Dillon Cleckler?
