BRAVE CF 72 Face-Offs: Champion Bogatov and challenger Abdrashitov both promise a finish after tense staredowns

TDT | Manama    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The second fight card of this year’s celebrated Kombat Kingdom series is official, as all athletes have checked in and made weight ahead of BRAVE CF 72 tonight.

Taking place at the National Stadium in Riffa, Bahrain, sixteen BRAVE CF 72 competitors from eleven nations arrived healthy and raring to go at the ceremonial weigh-ins and staredowns before BRAVE CF’s second 2023 card in the Middle East - an event that will truly showcase BRAVE CF’s depth of international athletes, with a total of 11 nations represented.

Four days ago, BRAVE CF 71 kicked off the fight festival in style, producing five stoppages and three decision wins. There, new contenders emerged and more stars were introduced to BRAVE Nation fans.

Today at BRAVE CF 72, two hands full of BRAVE CF stars will again stand up and fly their flags and brands on the most-global MMA platform in the final installment of Kombat Kingdom. With the rigors of making weight now behind them, combatants finally got the opportunity to size up their competitors and look them straight in the eye yesterday just 24 hours before the big night.

While every athlete showed up with intent, respect was the order of the day. The most intense staredown was produced in the third last face-off when Featherweight’s Yanis Ghemmouri and Mehmosh Raza stepped up to each other.

Proudly flying his Pakistan flag, Raza made his presence felt on the stage as his arms flared out while staring intensely into the eyes of France’s Ghemmouri, in an attempt to intimidate his opponent. Ghemmouri remained undeterred and cut a cool figure, aiming to keep the action and emotion for tonight.

In the much-anticipated Light Heavyweight fight, it was evident that Egypt’s Mohamed Hisham Baraka had invested a lot of emotion and energy into his staredown with former amateur superstar and Bahrain’s Rasul Magomedov.

As the two lined up, a tense Baraka breathed heavily while his competitor portrayed that steely resolve and terrifyingly calm demeanor - similar to his style inside the cage. Another explosive fight expected is the Super Welterweight bout between DRC’s Eliezer Kubanza and Algeria’s Rayan Atmani.

As BRAVE CF debutant Kubanza moved in on Atmani, he let off a loud roar, indicating what it means to be competing on the most-global MMA platform. The BRAVE CF 72 ceremonial weigh-ins ended on a light but exciting note as Featherweight champion Roman Bogatov literally sized up his Kyrgyz opponent, Nemat Abdrashitov, ahead of their five-round championship main event bout. When they met face-to-face, the Russian reached out to grab the KO machine’s bulging biceps before letting off a grin as he greeted Abdrashitov with respect.

“I am happy to be here today and mark my words, I will do all I can to stop Nemat tomorrow night,” said Bogatov, who defends his 145-pound title for the first time tonight. “I will finish Roman at BRAVE CF 72, watch this space,” said a more stern-looking Abdrashitov, who has racked up seven KO/TKOs and 14 stoppages thus far.