Brave CF president pushing hard for Olympic recognition: ‘Why can’t MMA be up there?’

Brave Combat Federation president Mohammed Shahid continues to spread his promotion’s wings as he prepares to hold an event in Slovenia. But the head of Bahrain’s MMA promotion said he has high hopes for the sport.

Shahid was in Ljubljana to officially launch the countdown to Brave CF’s return to Slovenia for Brave CF 81 on April 20. And “The Hawk” said that his promotion’s expansion into Europe will continue to build momentum through 2024.

“Today, we are here in Slovenia to announce our upcoming event here. But this time is different from the other times we’ve been here in beautiful Ljubljana,” he said during the event’s launch press conference.

“We come here today as the fastest growing and most global MMA organisation in the world, the only one to be hosted in 30 countries and five continents. And what we’re doing in 2024 is showing the impact that we’ve had and will have in European MMA.

“In total, Brave CF has hosted 22 events in 13 European countries thus far. No organisation is close to matching these numbers. We have the largest market share in Europe and through our close relationship with the IMMAF, and the national federations, represented here by the president of the Serbia Federation, as well as WFC, we will be bringing a new era of MMA in Europe.

“From the amateur level to the continental expertise and to a global organisation, we will be bringing Brave CF to Slovenia on two occasions in 2024 and to many more countries in the continent this year.”

Shahid also has a bigger dream for the sport, with the goal of Olympic recognition firmly in his sights. Brave CF works closely with IMMAF and its regional federations, and Shahid hopes that the growth of the MMA at amateur level will eventually lead to Olympic recognition for the sport.

“Our relationship with the IMMAF has been perfect because we share the same goal,” he explained.

“Our goal is not just to host events and that’s it. Other promotions are fighting for that spot, of being the number one or number two organisation in the world. Our competition is different, it’s with the rest of the world.

“Football, cricket, tennis, basketball, why can’t MMA be up there with these other top sports? To be there, we need a proper grassroot development program, we need a global organisation like ours to work together to get MMA to the Olympics, but at the same time, create a new model, a model that is sustainable for athletes, for media, for everyone involved in the industry, and to create a new sports economy for mixed martial arts.”