NEWS

Alexander Keshtov is a man with a feared reputation. His accomplishments speak for his skills. But Bair Shtepin, who will face Alex at BRAVE CF 46, is not fazed by his opponent. Born and bred in the Republic of Kalmykia in Russia, he is determined to dominate his countryman in their upcoming Bantamweight encounter, which is part of the fastest-growing MMA organization’s first-ever show in Russia, set for January 16th in association with Krepost Selection.

Bair is about to face the biggest challenge of his life, but he is as cool as ever, and has a different goal: to showcase the level of Russian MMA related to that of the USA. This is due to the fact that, even though Keshtov is Russian, he has spent the majority of his career fighting in America.

"He is a fighter with a lot of accomplishments, especially in the USA. But this does not worry me. I do not believe I am the underdog in this fight, and I want to show why at BRAVE CF 46", he said. 

Bair had his promotional debut with BRAVE Combat Federation at BRAVE CF 44 against Gerson Pereira. He demolished his opponent in the very first round with a spinning-back kick to the ribs of the Brazilian.

Repeating such a performance against the experienced and highly-skilled Alexander might be a tough ask. However, Bair is confident he can continue to impress and go for a title shot in 2021. "When I first asked for a fight in this card. I was told that the card was fully booked. But I kept training in the hopes that someone will pull out. This paid off when someone pulled out and I am excited to be part of this card." he said. 

BRAVE CF 46 will be headlined by a Super Lightweight world title fight, with reigning champion Eldar Eldarov returning home to defend his crown for the first time against top contender Leonardo Mafra. Some of the best Russian martial artists are also expected to see action, with the likes of Ali Bagautinov, Roman Bogatov, Valentin Erokhin, and Rustam Chsiev all confirmed for fight night.