Brave 1: The Beginning

Brave 1: The Beginning (also known as Brave 1 and Brave: The Beginning) was a mixed martial arts event held live by Brave Combat Federation on Friday September 23, 2016 at the Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town, Bahrain. The event was broadcast live online and locally through Bahrain TV.

Brave 1: The Beginning
The poster for Brave 1: The Beginning.
Information
PromotionBrave Combat Federation
DateSeptember 23rd, 2016
VenueKhalifa Sports City Arena
CityIsa Town, Bahrain
Event chronology
Brave 1: The Beginning Brave 2: Dynasty

Background

Brave 1: The Beginning was Brave Combat Federation's debut card and took place on its founder and patron's, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, 27th birthday.

The event was the second professional Mixed Martial Arts fight night to take place in Bahrain, after Desert Force 11 on March 7, 2014,[1] but the first one involving a Bahrain-based promotion. The card was officially announced in the promotion's launching press conference, on July 27, 2016.[2]

Brave 1 was originally supposed to be headlined by the welterweight bout between Lebanon's Mohammad Fakhreddine and Brazil's Thiago "Monstro" Vieira.[3] Six days before the fight, though, Fakhreddine suffered a knee injury[4] and pulled from the fight, being replaced by Russia's Gadzhimusa Gaziev. Gaziev vs Vieira was then moved to the co-main event position on the fight card, with Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady vs Rami Aziz becoming the new main event of the evening.

For years, Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady vs Rami Aziz was one of the hottest rivalries in Middle East. The Iraqi started calling out the opponent when he was still the Desert Force featherweight champion, but the fight never took place in the promotion. With both fighters signing with Brave simultaneously, the agreement for the anticipated bout came soon and the promotion was marked by an intense war of words.[5]

A bout between Russia's Eldar Eldarov and Ireland's Peter Queally, from SBG Ireland, was in the works for this card but Queally didn't reach an agreement with Brave and Eldar ended up facing Kevin Koldobsky,[6] also from SBG.

Ivan Lopez, from Mexico, was originally scheduled to face Crisanto Pitpitunge, from the Philippines, in a featured flyweight bout but Crisanto pulled from the fight due to an injury.[7] Jessie Rafols, also from the Philippines, was chosen as his replacement.

Broadcast

The event was broadcast internationally online, through Brave's official website and YouTube channel, for free. In addition, the card was also broadcast in Bahrain, and in selected cable companies, through Bahrain TV.

Broadcasting team
  • Play-by-play commentator: Cyrus Fees
  • Color Commentator: José "Shorty" Torres (Titan FC champion)
  • Cage announcer: Carlos Kremer

Results
Main Card[8]
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Lightweight Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady def. Rami Aziz Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 4:30
Welterweight Gadzhimusa Gaziev def. Thiago Vieira TKO (punches) 1 4:01
Welterweight Ahmed Amir def. Richie Martinez TKO (punches) 1 2:15 [lower-alpha 1]
Featherweight Masio Fullen def. Abdul Muneer TKO (punches) 1 3:50
Welterweight Eldar Eldarov def. Kevin Koldobsky Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card[8]
Bantamweight Hamza Kooheji def. Mohamed Mashaly Submission (North-South Choke) 2 3:01
Flyweight Ivan Lopez def. Jessie Rafols Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 3:16
Bantamweight Mohammad Farhad def. Zouhir Badr-Eddine TKO (punches) 2 3:04
Bantamweight Stephen Loman def. Frans Mlambo Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) 3 5:00
Strawweight Atif Mohammad def. Sunny Khatri Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) 3 5:00
  1. Martinez retired from MMA after the fight

Bonus Awards
  • Fight of the Night: Mark Stephen Loman vs Frans Mlambo
  • Knockout of the Night: Gadzhimusa Gaziev
  • Submission of the Night: Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady

References
  1. Sherdog.com. "Desert Force 11 - Bahrain". Sherdog. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. "Bahrain launches international MMA promotion BRAVE". Bloody Elbow. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. "Mohammad Fakhreddine VS Thiago Vieira Set To Headline Brave 1 - ArabsMMA". arabsmma.com. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  4. "Gaziev replaces Fakhreddine; faces Thiago Vieira in Brave 1 co-main event - BRAVE Fights". www.bravefights.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  5. "Abdulkareem Al Selwady - There Will Be Blood Against Rami Aziz At Brave - ArabsMMA". arabsmma.com. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  6. "Kevin Koldobsky Replaces Peter Queally To Face Eldar Eldarov at Brave 1 - ArabsMMA". arabsmma.com. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  7. "Rafols replaces Pitpitunge at Brave CF's maiden event". rappler.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  8. Sherdog.com. "Brave CF 1 - Brave Combat Federation 1". Sherdog. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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