Tag: BRAVE Combat Federation

BRAVE CF 51: The Future Is Here went down today ( Fri. June 4) in Minsk, Belarus. The 12-bout card ended up being only 11 fights after the main event between lightweights Lucas Martins and Marcel Grabinski was canceled due to a last-minute medical issue with Grabinski.  However, the crowd was not left too disappointed after undefeated Belarusian Denis Maher, making his promotional debut on home soil, finished the event in style with a first-round KO victory over Kazakhstan’s Rinat Sagyntay.

Maher came into this fight looking to cement his position on the BRAVE CF roster and establish himself as a genuine threat in the super welterweight division. He did just that after sending Sagyntay crashing to the ground with a perfectly placed uppercut halfway through the first frame. 

On the button!

Denis Maher hits the spot and puts Sagyntay down!#BRAVECF51 pic.twitter.com/6QHv7u98nN

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) June 4, 2021

England’s Sam Patterson earned his third straight win under the BRAVE CF banner with a hard-fought win over France’s Ylies Djiroun. The victory, coupled with the fact that Martins and Grabinski’s bout was called off, propels Patterson into title contention, and it will be interesting to see who gets paired with next for his next outing in the cage.

Earlier in the night, the highly anticipated bout between rising star Muhammad Mokaev and Georgia’s Ibragim Navruzov was ruled a no-contest. Mokaev accidentally caught Navruzov with a kick to the groin midway through the opening round. Despite the Georgian fighter using the full five-minute rest time to recover, he was unable to continue.

A frustrated Mokaev looked unimpressed with his opponent, who, as soon as he went to the ground, appeared uninterested in resuming the fight. The 20-year-old Mokaev was in control of the contest and looked exceptionally sharp and fast on his feet. Hopefully, it will not be too long before he is back in action.

Here are the full results from BRAVE CF 51.

• Super Welterweight: Denis Maher def. Rinat Sagyntay via RD1 KO
• Lightweight: Sam Patterson def. Ylies Djiroun via Unanimous Decision
• Super Welterweight: VVadim Kutsyi def. Daniyar Abdibaev via Unanimous Decision
• Featherweight: Roman Bogatov def. Abdulmutalip Gairbekov via Unanimous Decision 
• Catchweight (59kg): Muhammad Mokaev vs Ibragim Navruzov – NC
• Bantamweight: Yannis Ghemmouri def. Vladislav Novitskiy via Split Decision
• Flyweight: Badmatsyren Dorzhiev def. Almanbet Abdyvasy Uulu via Unanimous Decision 
• Bantamweight: Abdul-Karim Badakhshi def. Aydemir Kazbekov via RD1 Submission
• Strawweight: Anastasia Feofanova def. Sevde Turk via RD1 Submission
• Light Heavyweight: Vadim Rolich def. Kurbonsho Jamolov via RD2 KO 
• Catchweight (62,5kg): Bakhtovar Yunusov def. Artem Lukyanov via RD2 TKO

BRAVE CF 51: The Future Is Here goes down on Friday, June 4, in Minsk, Belarus. The 12-fight card will take place inside the Falcon Club in association with Rukh Sport Management and will mark the first time that the promotion has staged an event inside the Eastern European country.

Headlining the card is a lightweight clash between Brazil’s Lucas Martins and Germany’s Marcel Grabinski. Martins, an ex-UFC veteran and former BRAVE CF lightweight champion, will be Grabinski’s toughest test to date. 

The 29-year-old German has a 21-6 pro record and has been vocal in the build-up about he sees himself as more talented than Martins. Tensions between the pair almost resulted in a confrontation at yesterday’s weigh-in. The growing animosity between the two should ensure an exciting contest when the cage doors finally close on them.

In the co-main event, local hero and undefeated super welterweight Denis Maher will take on the unbeaten Kazakh fighter Rinat Sagyntay. Maher has a 7-0 record, compared with Sagyntay’s 9-0. Both men have earned their stripes on their respective regional scenes, so it should be interesting to observe how they cope on a bigger platform, competing against a higher level of competition.

The undercard contains several highlights, the most obvious being the return of Muhammad Mokaev, who is set to face Georgia’s Ibragim Navruzov. Mokaev has all the trademarks of a superstar in the making, and MMA fans should not pass up an opportunity to see him compete.

England’s Sam Patterson and France’s Ylies Djiroun will lock horns in an anticipated lightweight bout. The two fighters have been going back and forth in the media, and similar to the headline fight between Martins and Grabinski, there should be plenty of fireworks when this bout kicks off.

BRAVE CF 51 starts at noon EST in the US and can be watched on  FITE TV. The card will also be broadcast live on the Fight Network for UK fans. Global fans based in countries where BRAVE CF is not broadcasted can watch the event on bravecftv.com

Check out the full card for BRAVE CF 51 below.

• Lightweight: Lucas Martins vs Marcel Grabinski
• Super Welterweight: Denis Maher vs Rinat Sagyntay 
• Lightweight: Ylies Djiroun vs Sam Patterson 
• Super Welterweight: Vadim Kutsyi vs Daniyar Abdibaev
• Featherweight: Roman Bogatov vs Abdulmutalip Gairbekov 
• Catchweight (59kg): Muhammad Mokaev vs Ibragim Navruzov 
• Bantamweight: Vladislav Novitskiy vs Yanis Ghemmouri 
• Flyweight: Badmatsyren Dorzhiev vs Almanbet Abdyvasy Uulu
• Bantamweight: Aydemir Kazbekov vs Abdul Karim Badakhshi 
• Strawweight: Anastasia Feofanova vs Sevde Turk 
• Light Heavyweight: Vadim Rolich vs Kurbonsho Jamolov
• Catchweight (62,5kg): Artem Lukyanov vs Bakhtovar Yunusov 

BRAVE CF touches down in Minsk, Belarus, this Friday (June 4) for BRAVE CF 51. The Eastern European country will be the 22nd nation BRAVE CF has staged an event in, an impressive figure considering the promotion only launched five years ago.

Carlos “The Roaring Lion” Kremer, the promotions indefatigable cage announcer, has been with the company since the start, holding court for every event from the moment Atif Mohammad and Sunny Khatri walked into the cage for the opening bout of BRAVE CF 1.

LowkickMMA caught up with Kremer recently to discuss his start in MMA and how he ended up working with the Middle East’s premier MMA promotion. MMA is a tough industry to break into regardless of what side of the cage you want to be on, and Kremer’s story is a testament to the importance of creating opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear.

” I was living in San Diego and was hungry to get involved in mixed martial arts. I started doing interviews at different MMA functions in Ventura and Los Angeles, and just bidding my time and doing it for free, and [ it was my] passion,” Kremer said, speaking to LowkickMMA

The former marine captain began working for the San Diego promotion Epic Fighting, run by Jason Stewart. Kremer’s love of MMA and drive to establish himself in the industry saw him dip into his own pockets to hire camera operators and an editor to start EpicTv.

“You have to think big picture, and the marketing alone from those early days came back to me tenfold,” Kremer explained.

To those outside looking in, it was a risky move, but it was one that has since paid dividends in ways Kremer could never have foreseen at the time. After being offered an opportunity to be Epic Fighting’s cage announcer, his career trajectory was set on a course that would lead him to BRAVE CF.

“Once I hit that cage, you know I have always loved drama, I’ve been in plays, I’ve been an actor in Hollywood, and I wanted to bring that broadway show style feel, like a major Hollywood, Bollywood production into the cage of mixed martial arts. And give the fans an experience they would never forget,” he said.

Kremer’s busy schedule also included hosting a podcast, and it was when he had Manolo Hernandez and Alex Soto on as guests that the next chapter of his career began taking shape. Hernandez was matchmaking for the BRAVE CF and mentioned to Kremer’s wife, Teca, that the promotion was still in the process of deciding who would be their cage announcer. She immediately recommended her husband, footage made its way to Bahrain, and the rest is history.

” I started with BRAVE CF 1. The Kingdom of Bahrain has taken me in like family, one of their own, ” Kremer said,

” It’s been a whirlwind, and it’s just been an unbelievable journey. “

Cage announcer positions are sought-after roles regardless of the market a promoter is operating in. The choice of Kremer to be the announcer for BRAVE CF, a Bahrain-based company, did not pass without a few obstacles, especially given the fact that, at the time, he was an unknown figure in the Middle East.

” There are so many Arabic speaking celebrities, announcers, so many quality amazing individuals that they[BRAVE CF] were pressured to put someone like that on their show, and rightfully so,” Kremer said.

“But they had the belief in me and said, ‘wait, just watch, listen, see this guy in the cage. See how the fighters relate to him,’ and sure enough, it happened.

” I am very grateful because there were so many other people deserving in the area, so I had to come through with the biggest, most grand extraordinary performance, night after night, to not only secure my job but to make history together.”

“The Roaring Lion” is not the only one at BRAVE CF leaving everything inside the cage. The company has created a platform for fighters from regions other promotions have often overlooked. Kremer believes that for the athletes, knowing the company that they compete for has complete faith in their talents results in even better performances from the fighters.

” I’ll tell you what when you watch BRAVE and you watch our fighters because his High Highness [ BRAVE’s founder Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad]believes in them and Mohammed Shahid [BRAVE’s president] believes in them, these guys fight like no one else in the world, in my opinion.”

Kremer adds that it is not just the fighters that BRAVE CF form a bond with, but also the countries they visit.

“What Brave Combat Federation does is form relationships with countries, not for one event but forever. We want to help their economy, we want to help their businesses. We want their fans and their people to take pride in what’s happening and that we include them on this incredible mission.”

He references a moment from BRAVE CF’s early days that left a lasting impact on him to highlight his point. The promotion had just wrapped up its inaugural show, and Shahid was fielding questions from the assembled media. Reporters began asking what would happen if BRAVE CF did not become as financially successfully as the company hoped it would. Shahid’s reply, Kremer says cut straight to the core of the values that BRAVE CF represent.

” [He said] ‘We don’t care about any of that. We are here to create a global imprint on MMA for the entire world to see.’ It’s like how can you compete against someone who said that ?’

” He wasn’t talking about money, he wasn’t talking about revenue. He was talking about His Highness wants to make a global imprint on MMA period, and that is what we’re going to do.”

Since BRAVE CF 1, Kremer’s career has gone from strength to strength. His success mirroring that of the company he calls home. There are still many fights to announced and events to be held, but Kremer, like BRAVE CF, looks set to leave a lasting legacy on the MMA landscape.

Rising star Muhammad Mokaev returns to the cage this Friday (June 4) at BRAVE CF 51. The 20-year-old MMA prodigy will face off against Georgia’s Ibragim Navruzov in a catchweight bout. Minsk, Belarus, will be the staging ground for the event, with BRAVE CF 51 marking the first time the company has held a show in the Eastern European nation.

It will be Mokaev’s sixth professional bout in ten months and is a quick turnaround for the Dagestani, who recently went 5-0 at BRAVE CF 49 in March. However, constant competition is normal for Mokaev, who spent his youth participating in wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu tournaments before making his name with amateur junior-world titles at the IMMAF World Championships in 2018 and 2019.

“I am happy to get back because I used to be a fan of MMA before, and now I am living this, so when I see an active fighter, I really like these kinds of fighters,” Mokaev said talking to Lowkick MMA.

“I am in good shape, of course. It was one month of Ramadan with fasting… but I am in good shape.”

In Navruzov, Mokaev will be facing a BRAVE CF debutant. The 27-year-old Georgian holds a winning record of 5-1-1 and has fought for regional powerhouses ACB and M-1. Mokaev’s combined MMA record is 28-0, and he is well aware that he has a target on his back, with his opponents desperate to achieve the recognition that would come from handing him his first loss.

However, with each fight he competes in, he continues to improve rapidly. Anyone who saw how sharp he looked on the ground against Abdul Hussein, who was 7-1 at the time and a former amateur world champion, will undoubtedly attest to that statement.

Even at such a young age, it is apparent that Moakev is cut from a different cloth than his peers. His dedication to honing his craft backed by an innate talent meant that when he turned professional in 2020, multiple promotions moved heaven and earth attempting to sign him. When the dust settled, it was BRAVE CF who secured his signature. The company’s ethos of placing fighters first resonates strongly with Moakev.

“BRAVE is trying to grow, and they are growing, and they look after fighters; they understand the fighter’s position, ” he exclaimed.

“”They got more money like I believe, like Bellator or ONE, but they also build athletes, promote them using social media. Not just numbers, you win, you lose you go out, they actually look after you. “

BRAVE CF, like Moakev, is a strong supporter of the burgeoning MMA amateur scene, which IMMAF is spearheading. Moakev’s advice to younger fighters is to get as much experience in the amateurs as they can, before turning professional.

“In IMAAF, it’s exactly the same as the UFC, BRAVE, Bellator. For example, in amateur tournaments, they check your weight, check your physical, you have to do your medical blood tests, which other small promotions they don’t do,” he explained.

“You get used to this. If you don’t get used to this and you go straight to the professional [ranks] after one or two amateur fights, you will not [perform at your best]. Your performance will break because you’re going to be worried about what is going on around you.

“You should be concentrated on your fighting in the cage. That is when you should turn on.”

Moakev’s ambition for this year is to compete regularly, build his record and make his UFC debut. If he can get that done, then he will set his sights on earning UFC gold.

” In 2021, I want to be 8-0, 9-0. I want to fight in the UFC for the belt next year, but getting in this year, ” he said.

Considering what Moakev has accomplished already during his time in MMA, it would be a brave soul who would bet against him achieving his aims.

How excited are you for Mokaev’s return.