Tag: BRAVE Combat Federation

In a little over three weeks, Friday, 6 June, to be specific, BRAVE CF will touch down in Minsk, Belarus, for BRAVE CF 51. It will be the first time the Bahrain-based promotion has staged an event in the Eastern European country. The BRAVE CF matchmakers have been busy putting together a series of intriguing matchups for its Belarussian debut, none more so than the main event.

The headline bout sees former BRAVE CF lightweight champion and ex-UFC veteran Lucas “Mineiro” Martins taking on one of Europe’s top-rising talents in the shape of Marcel Grabinski.

The fight will serve as a litmus test for Grabinski, with Martins being the German fighter’s most high-profile and experienced opponent to date. The 29-year-old made his debut under the BRAVE CF banner at BRAVE CF 50, in Bahrain where he scored an impressive unanimous decision win over Issa Isakov. The fact that he has been booked as a headliner in only his second event shows BRAVE CF’s faith in his talents.

“It’s a great honor for me to be the main event at a BRAVE CF event. I was overwhelmed when I first heard that I was the main event, but it also showed me that my performance at BRAVE CF 50 was convincing,” Grabinski said, speaking to LowkickMMA.

“BRAVE CF can definitely count on me. I came to fight, I signed my contract in February. I made my debut in April. In April, I was asked if I could fight again in June. I accepted immediately. Defeating a former champ takes me one step further towards the title fight.”

Grabinski comes into this fight with a record of 21-6, 11KO. He fights out of Pride Gym Düsseldorf and has been training at the gym since he took up MMA ten years ago. Grabinski’s head trainer is Nordin Asrih, a German MMA veteran who competed on season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter, and who inspired a young Grabinski to take up MMA.

Before signing with BRAVE CF, Grabinski earned his stripes on the flourishing European regional scene. The 29-year-old holds no illusions about the challenge awaiting him in Minsk, but nor is he overwhelmed about the prospect of facing the 32-year-old Brazilian.

“Mineiro is a very strong and experienced opponent. He is a former BRAVE CF Champion and an ex-UFC fighter. [However] I have just as much experience,” Grabinski said.

” If you look at the statistics, we are at eye level. We are the same size, almost the same age, and [have] almost identical fight statistics. Also, we both have an attractive style of fighting. So it’s going to be a nice fight with the winner being the audience.”

Grabinski and Martins have a combined total of 23 knockout victories, and fans should not be surprised if that number ticks over to 24 by the time their bout is finished. It has been over a year since Martin has fought, with his last bout taking place at BRAVE CF 24 in London, where he unsuccessfully challenged for the BRAVE CF featherweight strap.

Martins will be hungry to return to the winner’s circle, but in Grabinski, he will be facing a fighter who believes his time on the world stage has arrived and who will be aiming to establish himself as one of the new faces of the BRAVE CF lightweight division.

BRAVE CF is gearing up this week to celebrate its 50th event. BRAVE CF 50 will take place on Thursday, April 1, inside Bahrain’s Arad Fort and features a pair of title fights in the main and co-main events.

For a company that only launched in 2016, it is an impressive achievement, especially when you factor in that BRAVE CF has staged events on five continents and 21 different countries. One of the founding goals of the promotion was to help transform MMA into a fully-fledged globally recognized sport, with national bodies working together to create pathways for MMA to progress.

A reshaping of the structure of the sport is no small feat. However, BRAVE CF President Mohammad Shahid feels that not only is it achievable, but it is also vital if MMA wishes to continue expanding in the future.

“The industry needs a complete reform. We are in the event business focused on revenue per event, no different from a concert or anything else. With BRAVE CF, our goal is to bring it to the sports business. Similar to football, cricket, basketball,” Shahid said, speaking to LowkickMMA.

” It’s not easy, and any sport is too big for one country, one person, or one company to handle. If it could be, then you can know there is a big hole in the structure, and it will end up dead in the next 10 or 15 years waiting for some superstar to come and save us.

” We need to change it now, and we have the format. We need to bring the MMA industry together to open their eyes and see the need for it and start the work together, and it will create opportunities for athletes to business opportunities for all who love MMA.”

BRAVE CF has already started this transformation by creating an extensive scouting network throughout the world. The company has over 70 experts working to locate new talent, a staggering number when considering that BRAVE CF did not even exist five years ago.

The following 12-months look set to be pivotal for BRAVE CF. The promotion has recently partnered with MMAON, a company working to help enhance the viewing experience for fans through digital tools. It will also be looking to work and collaborate with other MMA stakeholders to help advance the sport.

“In the next year, it’s time to let the industry of MMA enter the true sports business and create the global ecosystem in at least three continents and six countries, ” Shahid explained.

“The global ecosystem [is a] sports development program that allows a boy with a dream to be a fighter, one that has a national structure that will allow him to reach the top of the food chain and become a national and global star if he has the talent.

“This ecosystem will require a global regulation body and local promotions, and national federations to unite to be able to take this next step in sport and bring the private sectors to invest in MMA in their countries more than just one brand. Finally, to showcase the sport’s values, MMA can provide a nation,”

BRAVE CF is not the only MMA promotion looking to establish itself on the world stage. Still, it is one of the few companies openly looking into what needs to happen for MMA to see itself more in the sports business and less in the event business.Time will tell if Shahid succeeds in his aim or not, but it will certainly be an interesting ride for fans to follow.

Jordan’s Jarrah Al-Silawi has been a mainstay of BRAVE CF since the company arrived on the MMA landscape back in 2016. Al-Silawi first competed for the promotion at BRAVE CF 2, scoring a second-round submission win over Sweden’s Erik Carlsson to open his BRAVE CF account.

The “Jordanian Lion” now has a record of 9-1 under the company’s banner, and this Thursday (April 1), he will chase win number ten when he defends his Super Welterweight title in the main event of BRAVE CF 50 against Russian-born Austrian Ismail Naurdiev.

It seems fitting that one of the promotion’s longest-tenured fighters will be headlining the show and while his focus is on the task at hand. Al-Silawi is proud of the work he and the company have done, helping increase the profile of MMA in the Middle East.

“BRAVE CF grew in every sense and aspect of the sport. It feels actually like a different company, but the same name,” Al-Silawi said, speaking to LowkickMMA about the changes he has seen since he first stepped into the BRAVE CF cage.

“I feel a sense of pride to have witnessed the development of the company and to represent Arabs in this organization.”

In Naurdiev, Al-Silawi will be facing a former UFC veteran who racked up a 2-2 record before he and the company parted ways. This bout will be Naurdiev’s promotional debut, and Al-Silawi knows he will have a fight on his hands once the cage doors close on the pair later this week.

” I watched him, and he looks like a great adversary, but I feel I am better than him in all aspects. But he needs to understand that he is not coming and taking the title away from me. He is in for a battle, and I will keep my title in the end.”

Naurdiev is not the only recent addition to the BRAVE CF super welterweight ranks. The company’s president, Mohammed Shahid, has been vocal about his desire to add talent to the division, and recent signings such as Nauldiev, alongside figures such as Kamal Magomedov and Andreas Stahl, has done just that.

Al-Silawi has been watching the developments with a close eye. The arrival of new competition has helped fuel his drive to get the best out of himself, especially in this recent training camp.

I see the new signings, and it is giving me a boost to keep training and improving to defend my title over and over,” Al-Silawi explained.

“My training camp was very good. The only thing is that I had to finish my camp in Dubai due to the high number of cases and lockdown in Jordan. However, I feel I had one of the best training camps, and I kept in contact daily with my coaches and team.”

Globally MMA is continuing to bring in new fans and participants at an impressive rate, and the Middle East is no exception when it comes to increased interest in the sport. Al-Silawi wants to continue seeing the sport he loves grow and prosper in the region and aims to fulfill his part by remaining one of the faces of the region’s premier MMA promotion.

“The future is now, and the growth is mind-blowing. There are a lot of opportunities, and I am happy that I am spearheading the biggest global organization on the planet, and my partnership with the organization has and will continue being a fruitful one.”

Al-Silawi may have several new challenges for his title, but as far as he is concerned, he will be holding on to his belt and helping BRAVE CF continue to expand for some time to come.