BRAVE 18: AL-SELWADY BECOMES UNDISPUTED CHAMP; LOMAN DEFENDS TITLE

It was a night to remember for Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady as he became Brave’s undisputed lightweight champion after an injury forced Lucas “Mineiro” to tap out during the first round of their Brave 18 main event. “The Pride of Palestine” was on point with his striking, forcing the veteran with heavy pressure and connecting with hard straight punches. When the jordanian phenom closed the distance and got a takedown, Mineiro’s knee gave out and he was forced to tap out, relinquishing his interim title in the process.

In the co-main event, Stephen Loman was able to nullify the challenger Felipe Efrain’s offense throughout a tense five-round battle, maintaining his bantamweight crown and becoming the first-ever Brave champion to successfully defend his belt twice.

The flyweight title bout was another five-round battle, as Marcel Adur had good moments to close the show and become the first-ever divisional champion, but had to settle for a decision loss against Velimurad Alkhasov. Since the Russian powerhouse didn’t make weight, the belt remains vacant and both men will most likely rematch in the near future.

Elsewhere, there were landmark TKO wins for Bahrain’s Hussain Ayyad and Cian Cowley, as they dominated Mohamed Abo Ali and Hardeep Rai, respectively, finishing them in the first round.

In the main card opening bout, Luan “Miau” Santiago returned to the Brave cage with a flawless and tactical victory, as the one-time title challenger outpointed a tough and resilient Djamil Chan to get back to winning ways for Brave.

The undercard witnessed explosive action featuring upcoming talents from the continent. Gareth Buirski defeated Cedric Doyle by Guillotine Choke in the first round, while Nkosi Ndebele stopped the returning Ahmed Faress after a doctor deemed the Egyptian unable to continue.

Next up for Brave Combat Federation is a return to India, where Hyderabad will witness a middleweight bout between Sidney Wheeler and Leon Aliu as the main event of Brave 20, set for December 22nd.

Brave 18/WFCA 54 full results:

Main card

• Lightweight: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady def. Lucas Martins via TKO (referee stoppage) in R1
• Bantamweight: Stephen Loman def. Felipe Efrain via unanimous decision
• Flyweight: Velimurad Alkhasov def. Marcel Adur via unanimous decision
• Flyweight: Hussain Ayyad def. Mohamed Abo Ali via TKO (strikes) in R1
• Catchweight (74 kg): Luan Santiago def. Djamil Chan via unanimous decision

Preliminary card:

• Catchweight (73 kg): Cian Cowley def. Hardeep Rai via TKO (strikes) in R1
• Welterweight: Khamzat Chimaev def. Marko Kisic via TKO (strikes) in R1|
• Bantamweight: Rakhman Dudaev def. Joe Taimanglo via unanimous decision
• Featherweight: Magomedrasul Khasbulaev def. Rob Emerson via sub (arm-triangle) in R2
• Featherweight: Akhmed Shervaniev def. Antonio Carlos Ribeiro via unanimous decision
• Welterweight: Goity Dazaev def. Vasily Kurochkin via TKO (strikes) in R3
• Featherweight: Anzor Abdulkhozjaev def. Nikolay Kondratuk via TKO (strikes) in R1