NEWS

BRAVE CF 45 closed the second leg of the prestigious “Kombat Kingdom” series and the main event of the evening, which pitched against each other Colombia’s Dumar Roa and England’s Ian Entwistle, got to an end surrounded by mystery.

Returning to the cages after a four-year absence, Entwistle was a last-minute replacement to Brazil’s Gabriel “Fly” Miranda, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 before boarding to the Kingdom of Bahrain, forcing him to be pulled from the contest.

Entwistle kicked things off showing how much he missed the thrill of professional fighting. He went for it right after the bell rang and tried to catch Roa with a right hand. They briefly clinched and the Englishman pulled guard, quickly transitioning to a heel hook.

They spent roughly three minutes scrambling back-and-forth in the position, in a highly paced, chess-like grappling exhibition. When Roa finally managed to take the top position, getting away from the hook and surviving several near-submission situations, Entwistle tapped, surprising everyone.

It was clear by the images that the “Enty” injured himself while trying to submit Roa, and it was later confirmed by the doctors that he had blown out his knee, but the exact nature of the injury and how it happened remains uncertain. The only thing for sure is that Dumar Roa won his second consecutive BRAVE CF bout in the Kingdom of Bahrain, where he seems to feel at home.

“I’m excited to come back, I love to fight, it’s the thing I love most in life. Everyone in BRAVE CF is great, it’s such a wonderful promotion, so I’m really happy to be here”, Roa said right after the fight. “I knew he was looking for a heel hook but my nickname is Lionheart for a reason, as all the Colombian people are also brave in their hearts”.

Dumar also shared his thoughts on the unique situation he saw himself in, prior to the bout. The Colombian went to Mexico for a one-week training camp but ended up stuck in the country for months, due to the developing Covid-19 pandemic.

“This was a big surprise for me but thankfully I was welcomed by very nice people that helped me during such challenging times. Coach Roberto brought me in, made me part of his family, and they’re my second family now. But I really miss my family in Colombia, I stayed nine months away from them and I miss them so much, I can’t wait to be back and finally meet them”.

In the much anticipated Light Heavyweight co-main event of the evening Switzerland’s Mohamed Said Maalem set a stop for his opponent’s Zvonomir Kralj hype with a vicious first-round knockout.

But that wasn’t the scenario right after the bell ringing. During the first minutes it seemed that Zvonomir was on his way to yet another victory inside the BRAVE CF. With a high pace and devastating low kicks, “The Croatian Sensation” was the aggressor initially.

But it all changed halfway through the round. Maleem turned the situation around, got a powerful knockdown and, like a shark, smelling blood, went for the finish, forcing the referee to stop the contest with a little more than a minute left on the clock.

The night also saw the pro debut of one of the most successful IMMAF amateur fighters, Bahrain’s double world champion Murtaza Talha. Dominating Vadim Litvin, Murtaza lived up to the expectation and put on a textbook performance, to get a second-round rear-naked choke submission, opening his professional as he closed his amateur run: winning.

BRAVE CF 45 results:

Dumar Roa def. Ian Entwistle by TKO (injury) -  2m47s - Round 1

Mohammed Said Maalem def. Zvonimir Kralj by TKO (punches) - 3m50s - Round 1

Abdisalam Uulu Kubanychbek def. Vagif Askerov by TKO (punches) - 3m33s - Round 1

Nkosi Ndebele def. Zia Mashwani by TKO (strikes) - 4m29s - Round 1

Murtaza Talha def. Vadim Litvin by submission (rear-naked choke) - 3m00s - Round 2

Akhmed Magomedov def. Abdul Azim Badakhshi by unanimous decision (3x 30-27)

Adon Ayoub def. Isa Alameeri by submission (armbar) - 2m34s   - Round 2

Mohammed Zuhair def. Ali Abuhamda by unanimous decision (2x 30-27, 29-28)