Brave Combat Federation’s continued quest to expand its international boundaries will continue on Saturday, May 11 as the promotion heads to Mauritius for a huge title trilogy bout.
Headlining the show at Cote D’Or will be a bantamweight championship trilogy bout between South Africa’s reigning champion Nkosi Ndebele and American former champ Jose Torres.
The rivalry stands at one win apiece, with the most recent meeting seeing Ndebele stop Torres to capture the Brave CF bantamweight title. Now the pair will face off again looking to settle their rivalry once and for all.
The co-main event could produce the next man to challenge for bantamweight gold, with rival contenders Nicholas Hwende and Khurshed Nazarov set to face off.
Zimbabwe-born, South Africa-based Hwende captured the bantamweight title for South African promotion EFC, but his promotional debut inside the Brave CF cage saw him fall to his first career defeat as he was edged out on the scorecards by Velimurad Alkhasov.
Hwende bounced back with a strong performance to outpoint Mutolibsho Akobirov at Brave CF 77 and establish his credentials as a major contender at 135 pounds. Now he’ll face undefeated Nazarov, who arrives in Mauritius with a 9-0-1 record.
The Tajikistan fighter may have an enviable undefeated record, but he’ll make his Brave CF debut after a two-year hiatus. The 23-year-old will be keen to make a big impression as he faces Hwende in a matchup that could propel the winner towards a title shot later this year.
The card will also feature former amateur prodigy Ramazan Gitinov, with the undefeated lightweight star set to make the fifth appearance of his professional career. He’ll face unbeaten opposition in the form of Congolese featherweight prospect Prince Lolia, who is moving up to 155 pounds to test his mettle against the three-time IMMAF world champion.
And the event will also see the return of Congolese super-welterweight contender Eliezer Kubanza. The undefeated star, who as an amateur became the first of only two fighters to defeat Gitinov, carries a 5-0 record into his upcoming assigment against Algeria’s Karim Rabei.
Brave CF 82: Confirmed fights
- Nkosi Ndebele vs. Jose Torres – for bantamweight title
- Nicholas Hwende vs. Khurshed Nazarov
- Bidizina Gavashelishvili vs. Luthando Biko
- Ylies Djiroun vs. Ananias Mulumba
- Eliezer Kubanza vs. Karim Rabei
- Ramazan Gitinov vs. Prince Lolia
A sports editor and MMA reporter with 25 years' experience in sports media, Simon has covered mixed martial arts since 2009 for a host of national and international outlets, including UFC, BBC Sport, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport and the Daily Mirror.