Gamebred FC is putting a major financial incentive behind one of the most unusual formats in combat sports.
- Two 16 Fighter Tournaments, Two $500,000 Prizes
- The Tournament Began With a Deep Field
- Why Bare Knuckle MMA Changes the Equation
- The Dominican Republic Becomes a Major Tournament Stop
- Gamebred FC Is Expanding Beyond Its Original Audience
- The $500,000 Prize Changes the Stakes
- A Different Route Through the MMA Landscape
Jorge Masvidal’s bare knuckle MMA promotion is currently running two separate 16 fighter World Grand Prix tournaments, one at heavyweight and another at lightweight. Each tournament carries a $500,000 prize for the eventual winner, creating a combined $1 million prize pool across the two divisions.
The tournaments are not traditional bare knuckle boxing competitions. Gamebred FC uses the Unified Rules of MMA, but fighters compete without gloves. That means takedowns, wrestling, ground and pound, clinch work and submissions remain part of the sport while the gloves are removed. That combination is at the center of the promotion’s attempt to establish itself as a distinct combat sports product.
Two 16 Fighter Tournaments, Two $500,000 Prizes
The biggest attraction of the Gamebred FC format is the scale of the tournaments.There are 16 fighters in the heavyweight bracket and 16 fighters in the lightweight bracket, with each field competing toward a $500,000 payday. Gamebred FC confirmed that both tournaments are currently underway as part of its broader expansion.
That structure gives the promotion something different from a standard MMA event. Instead of one championship fight determining the direction of a division, fighters are placed into a tournament environment where every victory moves them closer to a substantial financial reward.
The format also allows Gamebred FC to bring together experienced former UFC fighters, regional standouts and competitors who have already built reputations in other combat sports.
The Tournament Began With a Deep Field
Gamebred FC launched the current tournament series in April. The opening event in Santo Domingo featured a heavyweight and lightweight field packed with recognizable names, including Anthony Smith, Chase Sherman, Thiago Santos, Guto Inocente, Ray Cooper III, Luis Peña, Rafael Alves, Anthony Njokuani and Alex Nicholson.
The promotion therefore did not build the tournament around completely unknown fighters. Instead, it mixed established MMA veterans with fighters who had experience in bare knuckle competition or regional promotions.
That gives the tournament an interesting dynamic. Some competitors already understand high level MMA, while others have more experience with the physical demands of fighting without gloves.
Why Bare Knuckle MMA Changes the Equation
The most important difference is obvious: there are no gloves.
Gamebred FC describes its ruleset as full MMA competition without gloves, meaning fighters retain the complete range of MMA techniques while dealing with bare knuckle striking. That can change how fighters approach exchanges.
Traditional MMA gloves provide some protection for the hands and can affect how fighters punch, defend and engage in close range. Removing them creates a different set of technical considerations. At the same time, the sport is not simply bare knuckle boxing.
A fighter can still take an opponent down, control position, attack submissions or use ground and pound. That makes the tournaments fundamentally different from bare knuckle boxing promotions where grappling is not permitted.
The Dominican Republic Becomes a Major Tournament Stop
The current event takes place October 2 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at the Pabellon de Karate in the Centro Olimpico. The card represents another important stage of the World Grand Prix, with multiple tournament bouts scheduled across the heavyweight and lightweight divisions.
Among the lightweight matchups are Kurt Holobaugh vs. Jhonasky Sojo, Luis Palomino vs. Brandon Girtz and Landon Quinones vs. Elias Santos.
The heavyweight side features Anthony Smith vs. Jordan Heiderman and Jake Heun vs. Daniel James. The Dominican Republic also provides an important regional element to the event.
Sojo and Santos are both Dominican fighters competing in tournament bouts, giving local talent an opportunity to compete against experienced international opposition. Local coverage has specifically highlighted their attempts to advance toward the $500,000 prize.
Gamebred FC Is Expanding Beyond Its Original Audience
The tournament has also arrived at an important moment for Gamebred FC as a promotion.
In August, Gamebred FC announced an exclusive global partnership with DAZN. The deal gives the promotion a platform across more than 200 markets, with Gamebred FC stating that its events will be streamed live and free on DAZN. The partnership includes a four event schedule covering Russia, the Dominican Republic and Miami.
More importantly, the World Grand Prix tournaments will continue through that schedule, giving the $500,000 competitions a much larger international platform. MMA Fighting reported that the upcoming events would continue the heavyweight and lightweight tournaments as Gamebred FC builds toward the eventual finals.
The $500,000 Prize Changes the Stakes
The biggest question surrounding the tournaments is what the financial reward can do for the fighters and the promotion.
A $500,000 winner’s prize is significant for a regional MMA tournament, particularly when competitors are coming from different backgrounds and promotions. It also gives Gamebred FC a straightforward selling point.
Every tournament bout matters because the fighters are not simply competing for another win on their record. They are attempting to move closer to one of the largest single payouts available through an MMA tournament outside the biggest global promotions. With two separate brackets, the eventual heavyweight and lightweight champions will each leave with $500,000.
A Different Route Through the MMA Landscape
Gamebred FC’s World Grand Prix is still developing, and the full tournament picture will become clearer as more bouts are completed.
But the concept is already distinctive. Two 16 fighter brackets, full MMA rules, bare knuckle striking and a $500,000 prize for each division create a format that sits somewhere between traditional MMA tournaments and bare knuckle combat sports.
The promotion is now taking that concept onto a global broadcast platform through DAZN, while continuing to stage the tournaments across multiple countries. For Gamebred FC, the next stage is simple: keep moving the brackets forward and determine who can survive enough rounds of bare knuckle MMA to reach the $500,000 prize.
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