BRAVE Combat Federation will begin its much-anticipated flyweight grand prix tournament at BRAVE CF 42, which takes place as part of the Kombat Kingdom series, in Bahrain:
Jose Shorty Torres vs. Sean Shorty Rock Santella
Zach Funsize Makovsky vs. Abdul “ABBA” Hussein
Velimurad Alkhasov vs. Flavio de Queiroz
Marcel Adur vs. Dustin Ortiz
Marcel Adur was forced to pull out of the grand prix due to injury, and his fight with Dustin Ortiz has been canceled; Ortiz may get another opponent for his quarter-final bout in November. Abdul Hussein fell ill during his weight-cut and won’t be participating in the grand prix, so Zach Makovsky is now the first semifinalist of the BRAVE CF Flyweight tournament.
Even though all of the athletes involved in the tournament are rivals and can become future opponents, they agree on one thing – BRAVE CF has assembled the best tournament the division has ever seen.
‘’I truly believe that the winner will be the best in the world at flyweight,” said said Jose Torres. “You’ve got older, more experienced guys but also younger fighters. I think I’m the only one in my prime, you have guys like Sean Santella and Zach Makovsky, more experienced, and then the younger guys like Flavio Queiroz, Abdul Hussein, and Velimurad Alkhasov. This is the best Flyweight tournament ever.”
For Flavio Queiroz, who meets Velimurad Alkhasov, the difference has been the several storylines about the athletes included in the tournament, and he also believes BRAVE CF has put together a huge opportunity for the Flyweights.
‘’You have different guys, with different stories, in different phases of their careers,” said Queiroz. “I’m excited for that and I truly believe it’s the best place to be if you’re a Flyweight. BRAVE CF has assembled the best tournament and it’s an honor to be chosen to represent Brazil in this GP, it shows that I’m truly, truly a world- fighter.”
BRAVE CF 42 takes place at the Bahrain National Stadium, on Thursday, September 24th.
Flyweight GP
Sean Santella vs. Jose Torres
Flavio Queiroz vs. Velimurad Alkhasov
Hamza Kooheji vs. Aidan James
David Jacobsson vs. Ibrahim Mane
Rolando Dy vs. Maciej Gierszewski
Amateur: Ali Yaqoob vs. Ariz Ahmed
HOW TO WATCH
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UK, SERBIA, GREECE, SLOVENIA, MONTENEGRO, ANGOLA, MOZAMBIQUE, NIGERIA, ISRAEL, CARIBBEAN, USA,CANADA
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Middle East and North Africa,
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Czech Republic and Slovakia
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Results:The opening round of BRAVE Combat Federation’s Flyweight Title Tournament held during BRAVE CF 42, this Thursday in Bahrain, is over. The main event of the evening saw a shocking draw between Sean “Shorty Rock” Santella and Jose “Lil’ Shorty G” Torres, who now will square off against each other once again to decide who will move to the semifinals.
Note: Torres’ nickname is one show only. There was three Shorty’s in the Brave CF cage:
Shorty Rock, Shorty, and the memory of Torres’ father, Lil’ Shorty G.
The first round was a classic display of high-level grappling, notably by Sean Santella. With both men into a 50/50 position, Santella attacked the calf and the ankle of Torres, who responded by calmly defending and eventually managing to leave the position. Immediately after, Santella took the back of a standing Torres and remained there until the end of the round.
The second round began with Santella shooting for the leg but being denied by Torres. When Torres tried to counter, Santella took the opportunity and went for the back. They stayed like this for a while, until the end of the round. There was still time left for Santella to pull another trick, faking a takedown attempt and connecting a beautiful spinning heel hook in the process.
In the third and final round, Jose Torres came ready to compensate for the first 10 minutes. Denying every takedown attempt by Santella and taking advantage of the top position to unload punches and elbows, which gave him the edge on the third and made the scorecards even for two of the three judges.
With one judge scoring the bout 29-28 in favor of Santella and two of them scoring 28-28, the bout was declared a Majority Draw. BRAVE CF Officials have confirmed that a rematch between Santella and Torres will be scheduled for an upcoming event to be confirmed and the winner will move forward in the Flyweight Title Tournament.
In the co-main event of the evening, Velimurad Alkhasov topped Brazil’s Flavio Queiroz and secured his spot in the semifinals of the BRAVE CF Flyweight Tournament.
Now scheduled to face Zach Makovsky, who beat him in a razor-thin decision back in January, in the next round, Velimurad used the post-fight interview to send a message to his rival. Be ready, Zach Makovsky, I’m coming for you.
Kooheji takes the edge against James, remains undefeated in Bahrain
The Pride of Bahrain Hamza Kooheji remained undefeated in his home turf, as he beat Wales’ Aidan James via split decision at BRAVE CF 42 in a very close contest.
Hamza Kooheji started the fight connecting the more powerful strikes and, despite having a reach disadvantage, was able to put pressure and make his opponent move backwards through the five initial minutes.
In the second round, the tables turned and it was time for Aidan to be the aggressor. In the third and final round, back-and-forth attacks made it as balanced as the previous two. But Hamza Kooheji managed to be more effective and took the edge on the judges’ scorecards.
In the post-fight interview, Kooheji said that after his seventh win inside BRAVE CF he sees himself ready for a title shot. I’m in the picture for a title for a long time now. I feel like I’ve done more than enough to get a shot and I’m going after Stephen Loman, he said.
BRAVE CF 42 Full results -Flyweight Tournament bout –
Sean Santella and Jose Torres fight to a majority draw
Flyweight Tournament bout – Velimurad Alkhasov def. Flavio Queiroz via unanimous decision
Catchweight (63 kg) – Hamza Kooheji def. Aidan James by split decision
Welterweight – Ibrahim Mane def. David Jacobsson via unanimous decision
Lightweight – Rolando Dy def. Maciej Gierszewski via split decision
Amateur Featherweight – Ali Yaqoob def. Ariz Ahmed via unanimous decision
