Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship talents Junior dos
Santos and Alan
Belcher will fight for the inaugural
Gamebred Fighting Championship heavyweight title in March.
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UFC veteran Jorge
Masvidal, the founder of the promotion, announced on Instagram
that the fight will be a five-round, gloveless mixed martial arts
contest on March 2 at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. Tickets
for the event go live on Jan. 17 and broadcast information is yet
to be revealed.
Dos Santos exited the UFC on a four-fight skid, and he followed
that with an injury stoppage loss to Yorgan De
Castro in his debut at Khabib
Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC in 2022. “Cigano” defeated fellow UFC
veteran Fabricio
Werdum in his promotional debut at GFC 5 in September to earn
the title shot.
Meanwhile, Belcher retired from MMA in 2013 at the age of 29
following a loss to Michael
Bisping at UFC 159. The former UFC middleweight contender
returned to combat sports in 2021, competing in both boxing and
bareknuckle boxing. “The Talent” won the
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship heavyweight title with a
stoppage win over Arnold
Adams in February 2023 but was stripped of the belt months
later, as his plans of competing in boxing interfered with the
promotion’s plans for his title defense. The 39-year-old earned a
split decision win over fellow UFC veteran Roy Nelson in
his promotional debut at GFC 6 in November to earn the title
shot.