Battle-ready fighters have arrived for the first global mixed martial arts event to be hosted in the continent of Africa on Saturday.
Athletes from the US, Italy, France, Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Syria, Serbia, Mexico and Sweden will compete at Brave 14 which is held under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
It will be the first time that the flagship sports media event from Bahrain is hosted in Morocco. The athletes will have a week-long stay in Morocco for the first time.
The media day will be held at Royal Tulip in Tangier tomorrow ahead of the public weigh-ins on Friday. The fight night will take place the day after at Omni Sport Indoor Club in Tangier.
The main event will feature Ottman Azaitar, the brother of Abu Azaitar, facing Danijel Kokora from Serbia.
Ottman Azaitar is the lightweight champion of Brave Combat Federation. He was crowned champion by Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa during Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions hosted in Bahrain.
After the event in Morocco, Brave Combat Federation will be hosting seven additional events this year in Colombia, the UAE, Pakistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and India.
Welcomed
Meanwhile, the media community in Pakistan welcomed the initiative of Shaikh Khalid to host the first global mixed martial arts event in Pakistan.
Brave 17 will be hosted in October in Pakistan under the patronage of Shaikh Khalid.
Pakistan had featured athletes in Brave Combat Federation, notably Haider Farman from Team Fight Fortress. Farman competed in Bahrain at Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions where he made a historic unanimous decision victory against Atif Mohammad from India in a strawweight bout.
The initiative to host an event in Pakistan was also welcomed by athletes in Pakistan praising the Kingdom of Bahrain for being the driving power in the world of combat sports.
“We are excited to welcome Brave Combat Federation to Pakistan. The dream of His Highness Shaikh Khalid is beyond the Kingdom of Bahrain and is also the dream of athletes around the world,” Farman said.
“We are proud to join such a global initiative led by one of the most respected figures in the Middle East. As more and more nations join and support Brave Combat Federation, this is indeed becoming a global movement to unite the world through sports.”