BRAVE CF 12: ELDAROV DOMINATES HOOI; AL-SELAWE BEATS HADBI

Brave Combat Federation’s first foray into South East Asia ended with a dominant performance for KHK MMA’s Eldar Eldarov as he returned from injury with a unanimous decision over a tough Brian Hooi. In the co-main event, Brave 12: KHK Legacy saw Jarrah Al-Selawe survive a good first round by Tahar Hadbi to become the first-ever fighter to hold five wins for Brave. Overall, fighters from KHK MMA fight team did well, earning important wins for the promotion, whose president Mohammed Shahid was on site in Jakarta to watch the action.

Eldarov, a longtime Lightweight contender, reinserted himself in the conversation for the title, as he won his third bout for the organization. The Russian, who was cornered by His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, implemented a wrestling-based gameplan and was able to neutralize Hooi’s dangerous stand-up. Eldar was also effective with leg kicks and injured the Dutch prospect’s right knee. However, Hooi was able to pull through until the final bell.

In the co-main event, Jordan’s Jarrah Al-Selawe had a very interesting matchup with French-Algerian Tahar Hadbi and came out victorious after a grueling three-round war. “The Jordanian Lion” lost the first round, but was able to impose his will in the next two frames and rocked “Fast Hands” several times during the last five minutes, earning himself a title shot against current Welterweight champion Carlston Harris.

Former UFC fighters Leonardo Mafra and Mehdi Baghdad were both out of luck as they were dominated by Gadzhimusa Gaziev and Pawel Kielek, respectively. Mafra started well but ended up suffering a knee injury, and the fight was over right before the end of the first round. “The Sultan” had no answers for the grappling of Kielek, who was able to dictate the pace of the fight and use his wrestling to keep Baghdad at bay throughout the three rounds.

Meanwhile, in the Featherweight division, Bahrain’s Hamza Kooheji was defeated for the first time in his Brave career as he was forced to tap from a rear-naked choke locked in by debutant Khalid Taha. “The Pride of Bahrain” is now 3-1 for Brave Combat Federation and 6-2 in his overall MMA career. Taha, on the other hand, improves to 12-1 as a professional mixed martial artist.

Brave 12: KHK Legacy Results

• Lightweight: Eldar Eldarov defeated Brian Hooi by unanimous decision
• Welterweight: Jarrah Al Selawe defeated Tahar Hadbi by unanimous decision
• Welterweight: Pawel Kielek defeated Mehdi Baghdad by unanimous decision
• Light Heavyweight: Vincent Majid defeated Jing Yi Chong by unanimous decision
• Featherweight: Khalid Taha defeated Hamza Kooheji by submission in the second round
• Featherweight: Marat Magomedov defeated Luke Adams by unanimous decision
• Catchweight: Gadzhimusa Gaziev defeated Leonardo Mafra by verbal submission in the first round
• Catchweight: Akhmed Magomedov defeated Anthony Engelen by submission in the second round
• Lightweight: John Brewin defeated Hardeep Rai by TKO in the second round
• Catchweight: Kaan Ofli defeated Jeremy Pacatiw by unanimous decision
• Flyweight: Hussain Ayyad defeated Jomar Pa-ac by TKO in the third round
• Bantamweight: Gamzat Magomedov defeated Zeck Lange by unanimous decision