Kavanagh: Mlambo one of the best strikers I have ever seen
John Kavanagh: “Frans Mlambo is probably one of the best strikers I’ve ever seen. He’s one of the top bantamweights not just at Brave, but in the world.”
SBG Ireland founder John Kavanagh has made an immortal impact on the MMA world, nurturing talents from Conor McGregor to Gunnar Nelson. Next on the coach’s list is Frans Mlambo, who takes on Stephen Loman in the main event of Brave 13: Europe Evolution, set for June 9th, in Northern Ireland.
Kavanagh is optimistic about his pupil’s chances in the title fight. The coach says Mlambo’s changes outside the cage have been as important as the adjustments he was able to make during training.
“Before, Frans would only train seriously for a few weeks before the fight,” said Kavanagh. “Now he’s a lot more committed to regular training year-round. Honestly, I believe he saw a future in the sport, so he started training regularly and not just rely on his impressive physical attributes.
“His grappling was too weak back then, but now he’s catching up. Frans is probably one of the best strikers I’ve ever seen. He’s one of the top bantamweights not just at Brave, but in the world.”
The Brave 13 main event will be a rematch for the bantamweight title as current champion Stephen Loman tries to go 2-0 against Mlambo. The co-main event is set for a catchweight of 171lbs (73kg) between former UFC fighter Norman Parke and Myles Price.
Brave 13 full fight card:
Stephen Loman (c) vs. Frans Mlambo for the bantamweight title
Norman Parke vs. Myles Price
Karl Amoussou vs. Rodrigo Cavalheiro
Andy Young vs. Bryan Creighton
Declan Dalton vs. Zack Zane
Sidney Wheeler vs. Mohammad Fakhreddine
Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Erik Carlsson
Konrad Iwanowski vs. Glenn Irvine
Chad Hanekom vs. Saeed Younesi
Cian Cowley vs. Daniel Olejniczak
Ben Bennett vs. Adam Byrne
Piotr Tokarski vs. Sam Slater
Aidan James vs. Tommy Martin
Brave 13: Europe Evolution marks the first-ever Brave Combat Federation show in Europe. Northern Ireland will become the ninth country to host a Brave event, after Bahrain, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Jordan, and Indonesia.