Brave CF 77: Tuesday night fights kick off Brave International Combat Week

Brave Combat Federation returns to its home of Bahrain as the organization kicks off Brave International Combat Week with two title fights in Isa Town.

Brave CF 77 takes place at the Khalifa Sports City Arena on Tuesday, December 5, with the promotion’s lightweight title on the line in the main event.

Kyrgysztan’s Abdisalam Kubanychbek defeated Kamil Magomedov in Belgrade to upgrade his interim title to the full version at Brave CF 69 in Serbia, and now the 20-3 champion, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2017, will put his title on the line for the first time against former lightweight champion Lucas Martins.

Martins lost the belt in his first title defense as he suffered a fight-ending injury against Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady at Brave CF 18, then a drop to featherweight to challenge then-champ Bubba Jenkins for the 145-pound title also ended in defeat.

Martins then endured a frustrating two years, with a staggering five bouts falling by the wayside, and his eventual return, against Olzhas Eskaraev, ended in a submission loss at Brave CF 53.

Four years after his previous win, “Mineiro” finally bounced back into the win column with a first-round stoppage of Henrique Marques at Brave CF 60, and another first-round finish, this time of Ylies Djiroun at Brave CF 74, saw the Brazilian return to championship contention once again.

But Martins’ bid to return to the top of the lightweight division hit a major roadblock at Thursday’s official weigh-ins, where he failed to make championship weight for the matchup. It means that victory will see him dethrone Kubanychbek, but he won’t end the night as champion.,

Defending champion Kubanychbek has looked dominant ever since his arrival in Brave CF in late 2019. Six wins and one no-contest later, the Kyrgyzstani athlete stands at the top of the lightweight tree. He’s unbeaten in his last 13 outings, and has claimed wins by knockout, TKO, submission and decision along the way. Now he faces Martins in a bid to cement his status as Brave’s premier lightweight.

There’s a title up for grabs in the co-main event as Polish veteran Marcin Bandel puts his super welterweight title on the line against undefeated Russian challenger Kamal Magomedov.

Bandel has won his last four, with his last three victories coming inside the Brave CF cage. The Pole’s elite-level grappling saw him claim first-round submission victories during that run, with those two wins sandwiching a unanimous decision victory over former Shooto Brasil welterweight champion Luis Felipe Dias.

Now “Bomba” faces arguably the toughest test of his Brave CF run to date, as he takes on Magomedov, who enters the fight with an unblemished 10-0 record. The 32-year-old captured the Titan FC interim welterweight title before joining Brave CF, and instantly put himself in title contention with a pair of stoppage victories. His 2021 debut in the Brave CF cate saw him armbar Vitaly Tverdokhlebov in just 52 seconds, while his second outing resulted in a victory via doctor stoppage of Oli Santalahti after just 68 seconds due to a cut.

Those victories put him in line for a shot at Bandel, and the pair were originally booked to face off at Brave CF 71 in June. But, after that bout was postponed, the pair were rebooked for Brave International Combat Week, where they’ll face off for Bandel’s title in the co-main event on December 5.