Alan Belcher Talks Family, Junior Dos Santos & Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA

The 39-year-old Belcher has seen a career resurgence after retiring from MMA in November 2015. He gained momentum once again in Bareknuckle Boxing and Bareknuckle MMA, but another eye injury in 2021 derailed him for a bit. Belcher would return and fight for the Bareknuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) heavyweight title in February 2023, where he scored a third-round knockout over Arnold Adams. He would later get stripped of the title after taking a fight with YouTuber Chase DeMoor but is now headlining this weekend’s event against Dos Santos.

Considering everything that has happened in his career up to this point, the question on everyone’s mind is who is Alan Belcher today? Belcher was a little taken aback by the question but took his time to gather his honest thoughts on the matter. “Sometimes they say changing is a bad thing, and that person is the same person,” observed Belcher before elaborating. ”I think about how much I’ve changed and realized how much growing and changing is a huge part of your life. I really try to improve every single day.”

“The eye injury ended my UFC career, and I didn’t know how to deal with it at the time. I’m in a totally different place now. I realized that everything that has happened in the past has been for me, and it’s gotten me to where I am at now.”

Alan Belcher vs Junior Dos Santo streams live on KICK

Belcher has a tough task ahead of him, but it’s a big event that he has been working hard to get to. “Dean Toole and Jorge Masvidal approached my management about fighting for Gamebred MMA. I’ve had a friendship with Dean Toole for a long time as we came up in the industry together. I’ve watched Jorge Masvidal come up, so it all felt right.”

Saturday’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA event was precisely what Belcher was looking for. He knew putting together a string of big wins would earn him big names and more importantly, big paydays. Although there was a tournament to determine who would fight for the first-ever title, in the end, Belcher always felt that he would be fighting Dos Santos.

“I wanted to fight Junior Dos Santos because I knew that it would be a very strategic boxing match where either person could get knocked out. It’s an interesting matchup to see two good boxers who have good hands and can utilize all their other weapons. It’s going to be a fun matchup.”

Expectation levels are high for Junior Dos Santos vs Alan Belcher

Belcher started preparing about 6-8 months ago for the MMA aspect of the fight. That’s when he began to work on kicks and grappling to be fully prepared for this fight on Saturday night. “You can’t just jump right back into it when you are talking about getting back into MMA,” said Belcher.

The expectation level is high for both Belcher and Dos Santos in a time when consumers have short attention spans. So, what will be some expectations leading into the Gamebred MMA event? “Both JDS (Junior Dos Santos) and I still have the speed, power, and competitive drive. It’s going to be a fun fight. When you have two guys that are really trying to win, that’s when you get an entertaining fight.”

When it’s all said and done, Belcher expects to leave the arena with the first-ever Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA heavyweight title. Although he’s motivated to do so, the meaning for him is much more important than just a win.

“Everyone wants to find a way to put their stamp on the world. For me, my son is 12 years old, and my daughter is 14, and they are becoming teenagers. They are starting to get their adult mind. If I can show them what I’m doing right now, it’s hard and scary, and you have to face these things while going for it against your own fears. This has a lot to do with being a father and an inspirational leader in my family. I try not to put a lot of meaning on it. I try to focus on the task at hand.”