Bahraini MMA promotion BRAVE CF is set to return to Pakistan since it last dropped by in 2018 with BRAVE 17. The IMMAF Asian MMA Championships will also be held in the nation as part of BRAVE International Combat Week, which will take place from August 18-22.
With this series of events, Pakistan will become part of a unique group of countries that have hosted BRAVE CF more than once. Additionally, Pakistan will be only the fourth country globally to host BRAVE International Combat Week. This event will also mark the first time the IMMAF Asian MMA Championship takes place in Pakistan, making it a significant milestone for the local MMA community.
BRAVE CF 85, set to take place in Lahore, will feature Kazakh fighter Rauan Bekbolat vs Omar Solomanov in the main event which may also double as a title contender fight for the BRAVE CF Featherweight title. Rauan Bekbolat will be aiming to end Solomanov’s so far undefeated run whereas Solomanov will look to solidify his status as the number one contender for the Featherweight championship.
There will be two Indo-Pak fights to spice up the festivities as well, with the co-main event of the night being a clash between Indian MMA veteran Srikant Sekhar and undefeated Pakistani star Rizwan Ali in the Lightweight division. The other cross-border bout will be between Bharat Khandare and Zia Mashwani at Bantamweight.
Eliezer Kubanza of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be continuing his chase of a Super Welterweight title shot as he returns to action to take on Kyrgyzstan’s Salamat Orozakunov. Orozakunov, who is a former Kyrgyz Armed Forces officer; will be looking to seize upon the somewhat recent ring rust of his opponent as Kubanza looks to get back on track after his last bout got canceled at BRAVE CF 82.
Muhammad Idrisov of Bahrain will make a swift return to the cage after a dominant win at BRAVE CF 83 when he fights Georgia’s Lasha Abramishvili in the Bantamweight division. It is to be noted that Abramishvili is on a three-fight winning streak with all of these wins coming ending with first-round stoppages.
Ismail “The Volcano” Khan will be coming back to the cage after being away for almost 14 months as he takes on Kazakhstan’s Bagylan Zahakansha in the Flyweight division. Khan has declared on social media that he’ll be looking for a submission in the first round but Zahakansha, who is known as a standout wrestler, will certainly make it tough for the Pakistani to make that prediction true.
Abbas Khan will face Adham Mohamed, in what will be a stern test for the man from Mardan as he takes on the number 1 ranked Welterweight in Egypt. Aqib Awan will fight Marwin Quirante in the Flyweight division with Quirante looking to make a good impression on what is to be a BRAVE CF debut for the Filipino.
The fight card will open with a Bantamweight bout between Iran’s Mojtaba Nasiri and Nepal’s Yuki Angdembe. This will be followed by undefeated Murad Guseinov representing Bahrain and Ruslan Serikpulov of Kazakhstan in a Super Lightweight division fight.
BRAVE Combat Federation’s return to Pakistan is part of a hectic schedule, with the organization hosting six events in six countries across two continents within 70 days. This includes their first-ever event in China before heading to Pakistan and a debut event in Bulgaria afterward.
