BRAVE Combat Federation’s 72nd event has a strong presence of IMMAF alumni, with three athletes either making their pro debuts or moving to the next level in their professional careers.
IMMAF president Kerrith Brown arrived in the kingdom ahead of BRAVE 72 and will be in attendance for what is a historic moment for both organisations. Brown will watch and support the likes of Muhammad Idrisov, Rasul Magomedov, Eliezer Kubanza and Mohammed Alsameea in action today.
Idrisov is the most experienced pro athlete, with a perfect professional record of eight wins in as many fights. He is a 2019 European champion under IMMAF, and has also won a silver medal in the 2018 IMMAF World Championship.
He is joined in today’s fight card by two pro debutants. Magomedov, the number one heavyweight in IMMAF, makes his pro debut in light heavyweight, following a highly successful and undefeated amateur career.
Magomedov, who once beat wrestling legend Kyle Snyder prior to transitioning to MMA, has two IMMAF World Championships, as well as a MMA World Cup gold medal and a European Championship gold medal.
Kubanza is widely known as only one of two men to defeat the best amateur fighter Ramazan Gitinov, in IMMAF competitions. He will make his debut in the super welterweight division against Rayan Atmani, and is currently a 3-0 undefeated pro athlete. Kubanza will also become the first fighter from DR Congo to fight for BRAVE CF, making DR Congo the 82nd nation represented in the arena.
Alsameea kicks off the fight card in his pro debut, with a lot of expectation around his name – “Zuhair” is one of the biggest young stars coming out of Bahrain, and a world silver medallist in 2021. He has fought in BRAVE CF as an amateur before and will look to make an even greater splash when he arrives in the professional flyweight division.
The event takes place at the National Stadium, in Riffa, and is headlined by a world title fight, as champion Roman Bogatov defends his title against KO machine and number one contender Nemat Abdrashitov. In total, BRAVE 72 features eight bouts with 11 nations represented.
Four days ago, BRAVE 71 kicked off the fight festival in style, producing five stoppages and three decision wins. New contenders emerged and more stars were introduced to BRAVE Nation fans.