A Brave CF title fight between Mohammad Fakhreddine and Mohamed Said Maalem nearly had a chaotic aftermath before an MMA referee stepped in. Fakhreddine earned a first-round TKO victory over Maalem at Brave CF 57 to claim the promotion’s vacant light heavyweight title. The two had been on each other’s nerves for months, stemming from…
A Brave CF title fight between Mohammad Fakhreddine and Mohamed Said Maalem nearly had a chaotic aftermath before an MMA referee stepped in.
Fakhreddine earned a first-round TKO victory over Maalem at Brave CF 57 to claim the promotion’s vacant light heavyweight title. The two had been on each other’s nerves for months, stemming from their first matchup that resulted in a no-contest at Brave CF 52.
Fakhreddine was hyped up after earning the knockout, running to his opponent’s corner and trash-talking them just seconds after the finish. Things began to escalate when one of Maalem’s cornermen attempted to jump into the cage and engage in a brawl with Fakhreddine and his team.
That’s all before referee Aaron Wallace grabbed Fakhreddine and carried him by himself to the other side of the cage. Wallace’s actions would need repeating as Fakhreddine broke free and nearly brawled again with Maalem and his corner.
Wallace would take his heroics one step further by grabbing Fakhreddine with one arm, and Fakhreddine’s cornermen with the other away from the chaotic scene. It was a wild moment that drew quite the reaction from the crowd and the broadcast team.
While Wallace’s actions to calm the scene attracted a lot of attention, the chaos may fuel the fire towards a trilogy between Fakhreddine and Maalem in the future. If a trilogy happens, look for Wallace to potentially get the nod to officiate in case things get out of hand again.
What is your reaction to this wild referee moment?
Mohammad Fakhreddine is ready for a change, to turn the page on his long-running feud with Algeria’s Mohamed Said Maalem and start a new chapter in his storied career. However, before that can happen, the Lebanese fighter needs to take care of business on March 11 at BRAVE CF 57 in Bahrain, where he and […]
Mohammad Fakhreddine is ready for a change, to turn the page on his long-running feud with Algeria’s Mohamed Said Maalem and start a new chapter in his storied career.
However, before that can happen, the Lebanese fighter needs to take care of business on March 11 at BRAVE CF 57 in Bahrain, where he and Said Maalem will face off for the vacant light heavyweight title. Fakhreddine is already the promotion’s middleweight king, and a win this week will see him become the first double champion in BRAVE’s history.
” I can’t wait for this fight to happen; I can’t wait to get it over and done with. I know maybe we’ll have to fight one more time, but for now, I just want to get this fight done and move on,” Fakhreddine said, speaking to LowkickMMA.
The year-long rivalry dates back to when Fakhreddine and Said Maalem initially met at BRAVE CF 50. There had been tension in the build-up, but it boiled over after illness forced Fakhreddine to withdraw from the contest the day of the fight. Although Fakhreddine acted on doctors’ advice, Maalem mocked his rival and claimed he would have fought if the roles had been reversed.
BRAVE CF’s matchmakers quickly rebooked the bout for BRAVE CF 52 in Italy. The two men then engaged in a heated war of words with their genuine disdain for one another, coupled with their explosive styles, leading to the contest being the most anticipated in BRAVE CF’s history.
The fight was a short, action-packed affair, with Said Maalem seemingly earning himself a first-round TKO win. However, after footage emerged of the Algerian landing repeated illegal blows to the back of Fakhreddine’s head, the Italian commission overturned the result to a no-contest.
“It should have been a DQ on the spot, but that didn’t happen, and I don’t want the belt with a DQ win. I want to win the belt when I beat his arse, that’s how I want to win the belt. ” Fakhreddine said.
After moving to Dubai from Lebanon, the 37-year-old has brought in sparring partners from his homeland and Kuwait to help prepare him for the rematch. After two false starts against Said Maalem, Fakhreddine has been training the house down in preparation for this bout.
” I’m bringing a different animal to the table this time. Physically, I’m 100 times better than the last fight, 100 times stronger as well. So last time he couldn’t handle my power, he couldn’t handle my strength. So this time, I know he won’t be able to for sure.”
A born competitor, it has been almost 18 months — ignoring the no-contest — since Fakhreddine has had a whole fight, and he is hungry to show fans what he has been working on inside the gym. The game plan against Said Maalem remains relatively unchanged, and like always, Fakhreddine will make sure that those watching get their money’s worth.
“‘I’m going to come in there, I’m going to walk forward, and I’m going to try to finish the fight. Nothing’s going to change; this is me.
“Everybody knows that I’ve come for a brawl. I might be technical. I’m good when I want to be technical. But I like to give my fans a good show, and I like to put on a show for everybody.”
Fakhreddine may be aiming to entertain BRAVE’s worldwide fan-base, but there is one group in particular that he wants to inspire and bring joy to; the Lebanese people. Lebanon is in the grip of a significant economic downturn, with 40 percent of the population thinking about emigrating, and Fakhreddine is well aware of the plight his compatriots are going through.
“People are struggling. A lot of people I know don’t even have food to eat, So they have to pretty much just hustle to get some food, and I feel sorry for the people going through this hard time. I feel them; I was there just recently, and I know how it is. It’s hard, and I feel really bad for the people that live there, ” he explains.
“It’s going to be a pleasure to put a smile on some of those people’s faces. I know people are going to be happy back home, whether they know me or not. I’m going to be representing each and every one of them. I’m going to raise that flag high on March 11; no matter what happens, I’m going to raise that flag high. I’m going to put a smile on a lot of people’s faces. I’m going to be giving hope to a lot of people as well.”
When Fakhreddine enters the cage this week, he will be fighting for more than personal glory or to simply defeat a bitter rival. He will be fighting for everyone in Lebanon who dreams of following their own path and building their own future.
Will you be watching Fakhreddine’s rematch with Said Maalem?
BRAVE CF 43 is set to go down tomorrow (Thursday, October 1) in the Gulf State of Bahrain. This event will be the third consecutive card that the promotion has staged in Bahrain and draws close to its Kombat Kingdom series. Headlining the event will be a middleweight title clash between Jordan’s Jarrah Al-Silawi and […]
BRAVE CF 43 is set to go down tomorrow (Thursday, October 1) in the Gulf State of Bahrain. This event will be the third consecutive card that the promotion has staged in Bahrain and draws close to its Kombat Kingdom series.
Headlining the event will be a middleweight title clash between Jordan’s Jarrah Al-Silawi and Holland’s Melvin van Suijdam. Al-Silawi is the current BRAVE CF welterweight champion and is competing at middleweight with an eye on a possible title clash between himself and current middleweight champion Mohammad Fakhreddine.
The two men have shared history, having fought twice before with each man holding a win apiece. Fakhreddine claimed the title in spectacular fashion at BRAVE CF 41 two weeks ago, when he stopped Brazil’s Daniel Souza. However, before Al-Silawi can put his name forward for a title shot, he will need to earn his stripes in the BRAVE CF middleweight division with a win over van Suijdam.
” I’m happy to be here in Bahrain once again. It has been a long time since my last fight, but I am here today, and I can not wait to start this fight, I’ve fought here before, and I won, I’m doing it again now,” Al-Silawi said, speaking to LowKickMMA.
“I was training even during the hardest times, especially with coronavirus. I was training at home by myself, and I had a great camp in Dubai, specifically for this fight. So I am here today and ready to go.
It’s a great fight. I definitely studied my opponent really well, took a lot of notes. I’m confident I’ll be able to handle him. I know how to block every possible move he would make and can’t wait to show it.”
The “Jordanian Lion” is one of the company’s veterans, having fought eight times in BRAVE CF since making his promotional debut at BRAVE CF 2 in 2016. He recaptured his welterweight crown in his last outing when he fought France’s Abdoul Abdouraguimov. He knows that there is a growing list of title contenders at welterweight, but the lure of a trilogy bout with Fakhreddine may be too strong of a temptation for both him and the BRAVE matchmakers to resist.
“I don’t really know what is going to happen,” Al-Silawi commented when asked about future plans.
“I might defend my title as a welterweight, and I might continue fighting as a middleweight, but I will always be prepared for either. I’m ready for everyone and I mean everyone.”
Regardless of the division, he decides to compete in next. There will be no shortage of matchups in the coming months for one of the Middle East’s most prominent MMA stars.
BRAVE CF 43 Full card:
Middleweight: Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Melvin van Suijdam
Bantamweight: Kasum Kasumov vs. Dimitar Kostov
Lightweight: Abdulrakhman Madhazhiev vs. Abdysalam Kubanychiev
Lightweight: Akhmed Shervaniev vs. Arman Popal
Catchweight (59 kg): Muhammad Mokaev vs. Jamie Kelly
Featherweight: Anzor Abdulkhozhaev vs. Soheil Davoodi
Catchweight (67 kg): Tae Kyun Kim vs. Arturo Chavez
Mohamed Said Maalem pic.twitter.com/XuSYMEKYPN
Mohamed Said Maalem 
Mohammad Fakhreddine is ready for a change, to turn the page on his long-running feud with Algeria’s Mohamed Said Maalem and start a new chapter in his storied career. However, before that can happen, the Lebanese fighter needs to take care of business on March 11 at BRAVE CF 57 in Bahrain, where he and […]
BRAVE CF 43 is set to go down tomorrow (Thursday, October 1) in the Gulf State of Bahrain. This event will be the third consecutive card that the promotion has staged in Bahrain and draws close to its Kombat Kingdom series. Headlining the event will be a middleweight title clash between Jordan’s Jarrah Al-Silawi and […]