Eldar Eldarov was filled with emotion as he walked out to the BRAVE CF 46 main event, the first title defense of his super lightweight title. This was his first fight in almost two years, his first fight for BRAVE in Russia, his country of birth, and he was paying homage to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, a mentor since he was 14, and one of his closest friends.
Despite having so much at stake, Eldarov looked as sharp and deadly as always, giving little opportunity for his challenger, Brazil’s Leonardo Mafra to launch any sustained offense. After the very first round, Mafra was declared unable to proceed by the medical team and Eldar retained his title.
A wrestler and combat sambo specialist, Eldarov is rapidly evolving, and opted to strike with Kings MMA protege Leonardo Mafra. The Brazilian welcomed the chance to keep the fight standing up and stalked the champion. Then with just 15 seconds left in Round 1, Eldarov got his first takedown and, when Mafra tried to get back on his feet, caught him with a brutal sequence, which opened a huge cut in Mafra’s eyebrow.
The one-minute break wasn’t enough for the doctor to evaluate Mafra’s situation and as time kept passing, the tension started to build. After a few minutes, though, the referee heard from the doctor – Mafra couldn’t keep going. The Ref let Eldarov and his team know, and the champion exploded.
After the win, Eldarov showed great sportsmanship and praised his opponent Leonardo Mafra. He also thanked His Highness Sheikh Khaled and celebrated the memory of the elder Nurmagomedov.
Leonardo, my friend, great respect! I’d also like to thank Sheikh Khaled bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the man who has stood behind all of this, the man who made all of this possible! I promise, in 2021 we will have many more champions coming from KHK MMA team,” said the champ. “Finally, I’d like to pay my respect to the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov who left us so early, the champ said.
Eldar Eldarov is now 13-1 in his professional career and is still undefeated in BRAVE Combat Federation, winning five out of five fights under the fastest growing MMA promotion’s banner. The sole loss of his career is to Khabib Nurmgagomedov.
In the co-main event, Ali Bagautinov made an impressive BRAVE CF debut by defeating Oleg Lichkovakha. The fight was a one-sided affair with Bagautinov dominating using his wrestling and ground and pound. Despite the dominance, the fight went the distance and Bagautinov was declared the winner by the judges.
The event also saw the triumphant return of The Russian Bear Konstantin Erokhin after a 3-year absence, with a huge knockout over Zhyrgalbek Chomonov, who entered this bout undefeated.
Erokhin looked to control the actions since the beginning of the first round but was caught off guard by a head kick that dropped him. He got back on his feet and recomposed, though, and entering the second round came for the win, landing a beautiful combination straight to Chomonov’s face, which broke his nose, made the Kyrgyz fall flat, and forced the referee to stop the fight.
Another BRAVE CF newcomer, Roman Bogatov, took full advantage of his experience and beat Kazakhstan’s Nurzhan Akishev via unanimous decision. After a first round of back-and-forth action, Bogatov took the lead and used his grappling to secure his first BRAVE CF win.
BRAVE CF 46 results:
Eldar Eldarov def. Leonardo Mafra via TKO (doctor) stoppage between R1 and R2
Ali Bagautinov def. Oleg Lichkovakha via unanimous decision
Roman Bogatov def. Nurzhan Akishev via unanimous decision
Konstantin Erokhin def. Zhyrgalbek Chomonov via TKO in R2
Magomed Absudalamov and Andrey Lezhnev was declared a No Contest (accidental head clash)
Abdisalam Kubanychbek def. Jahongir Saidjamolov via submission (rear-naked choke) in R2
Khunkar-Pasha Osmaev def. Yuriy Verenitsen via unanimous decision
Murtaza Talha def. Dmitriy Krivulets via TKO in R1
Murad Bilarov def. Fedor Babich via submission (kimura) in R2
Magomed Kamalov def. Zokirzhon Khashimov via TKO in R2
Saygidgusein Surkhaev def. Erkinbai Abdusalamov via submission (guillotine choke) in R1
