BRAVE 18 finished with a bang on Friday night at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium.
It was Brave Combat Federation’s 18th event and part of Brave International Combat Week 2018.
The event featured three championship titles and attracted some of the biggest names including UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley, Jose “Shorty” Torres, Jack Black and Lenne Hardt.
The fight night was a joint promotion between Brave 18 and WFCA 54.
The biggest upset of the day was witnessed in the second fight when Cian Cowley of SBG Ireland shocked fellow IMMAF medallist Hardeep Rai with a thrilling first round TKO finish.
Later, Luan Santiago and Djamil Chan fought three rounds in a bout showcasing intense standup action.
Bahrain’s Hussain Ayyad bounced back with a dominating win over Egypt’s Hassan Abo Ali. The 2017 IMMAF medallist went ahead with a TKO finish for his second win at Brave.
In the co-main event of the night, Stephen Loman from the Philippines defended his world championship title against Felipe Efrain from Brazil.
Loman is the champion with most number of successful title defences. He was awarded the world championship title by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and and the Philippines to Bahrain Alfonso A Ver congratulated Loman on his successful title defence.
In the main event of the evening, Abdul Kareem Al Selwady became the first fighter from Palestine to contest for a world championship title when faced the champion Lucas Mineiro from Brazil. The bout was settled in the first round as Al Selwady slammed Mineiro forcing the referee to stop the fight and declare Al Selwady the winner.
Brave 18 results:
Abdul Kareem Al Selwady (Lightweight world champion) bt Lucas Mineiro by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) - Round 1; Stephen Loman (Bantamweight world champion) bt Felipe Efrain by unanimous decision; Velimurad Alkhasov bt Marcel Adur by unanimous decision; Hussain Ayyad bt Hassan Abo Ali by TKO - Round 1; Luan Santiago bt Djamil Chan by unanimous decision; Cian Cowley bt Hardeep Rai by TKO - Round 1; Khamzat Chimaev bt Marko Kisic by TKO - Round 1.
WFCA 54 results:
Abdul Rakhman Dudaev bt Joe Taimanglo by unanimous decision; Magomedrasul Khasbulaev bt Robert Emerson by Anaconda Choke (Round 2); Akhmed Sheraniev bt Antonio Carlos Ribeiro by unanimous decision; Goyti Dazev bt Vasiliy Kurochkin by knockout (Round 3); Anzor Abdulkhozjaev bt Nikolay Kondratuk by TKO (Round 1).