Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos snapped a five-fight losing streak by bloodying and battering fellow ex-champ Fabricio Werdum en route to a split decision win in his bare-knuckle MMA debut on Friday in the main event of Gamebred Bareknuckle 5.
Dos Santos, who had not fought since 2021, opened up bad cuts near both of Werdum’s eyes with his punches and elbows.
Werdum tried to take the fight to the ground, but dos Santos was able to stay upright and land more punches.
The judges scored the fight 28-29, 30-27, and 30-27 for dos Santos, who improved to 23-9-1 overall. Werdum fell to 24-9-1.
The fight was a close one, but dos Santos’ striking was the difference. He landed more punches and elbows, and he also had more effective takedowns.
Werdum did have some success with his ground game, but he was unable to do enough to win the fight.
The win was a big one for dos Santos, who was looking to get back on track after his losing streak. He is now one step closer to a title shot in bare-knuckle MMA.
“That was my first time [fighting bare-knuckle MMA] and I loved it, that was amazing,” dos Santos said.
“I feel good. Feeling a little sore but I think that’s OK. I’m fighting someone who was really well-prepared. Everybody knows the legend that he is.” he added.
Werdum, meanwhile, will need to regroup after this loss. He is still a dangerous fighter, but he will need to improve his striking if he wants to compete at the top of the division.
The fight was the main event of Gamebred Bareknuckle 5, which took place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
The event was promoted by Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Fighting Championship.
