Roy Nelson set to headline first bareknuckle event sanctioned in Florida, promoted by Jorge Masvidal

It appears as though Roy Nelson is set to headline a historic bareknuckle MMA event, being promoted by Jorge Masvidal, on May 5.

Masvidal announced that for the first time, a bareknuckle MMA event will be sanctioned in his home state of Florida. He was excited to be promoting the historic event and made the announcement while wearing a Florida Panthers NHL jersey, who play their home games at the arena.

He said:

"Let's get it, baby! Your boy's back to promoting that is. I'm bringing you South Florida and all of Florida the first ever bareknuckle event santioned. MMA with no gloves, first time in Florida history at the FLA Live Arena."

'Gamebred' brings two notable knockout artists, Nelson and Dillon Cleckler, which means that fans can expect a knockout. He described both fighters' respective resumes in combat sports and emphasized the number of knockouts they have, saying:

"We got Dillon Cleckler, 10-0 as an amateur with 10 knockouts, 11-1 as a pro with 10 knockouts versus a man that needs no introduction. 19 finishes, 16 coming by way of knockout, Ultimate Fighter winner, this guy does everything big, 'Big Country' Roy Nelson! Let's get it cracking."

'Big Country' last competed in Bellator in 2020, where he lost a unanimous decision to eventual interim heavyweight champion Valentin Moldavsky. The loss was his fifth straight and ended his tenure with the promotion with a 1-5 record.

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Roy Nelson won season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter

Roy Nelson was part of one of the most memorable seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.

'Big Country' competed in Season 10, which featured all heavyweights and saw bitter rivals Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Rashad Evans serve as the coaches.

The IFL veteran had an impressive stretch of performances on the show as he defeated Kimbo Slice via second-round TKO in the opening round, Justin Wren via majority decision in the quarter-final, and James McSweeney via first-round TKO in the semi-final.

'Big Country' earned his UFC contract by defeating Brendan Schaub with a vicious knockout in the finale to win The Ultimate Fighter.