BRAVE CF Announce Full Card For Russian Debut

BRAVE CF will touch down in Russia on Saturday, January 16, when it holds BRAVE CF 46 in Sochi. Since its inception in 2016, the Bahrain based promotion has held events in 20 countries, with Russia set to become the 21st country in which BRAVE CF has planted its flag.

Headlining BRAVE CF 46 is a super lightweight title bout. Eldar Eldarov will defend his crown for the first time when he takes on Brazil’s Leonardo Mafra. Eldarov captured the title at BRAVE CF 23 with a dominant win over Mounir Lazzez. 

The only loss of the 29-year-old Russian’s career came at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov back in 2009. Since then, he has gone on an eleven fight winning streak and has been one of BRAVE’s most consistent performers. Mafra is a 4-fight UFC vet who has also fought under the Pancrase banner, his most recent outing was a unanimous decision win over Djamil Chan at BRAVE CF 25.

Leonardo Mafra has waited his entire career for his shot at glory.

On January 16th, he travels into enemy territory to take on Russian hero Eldar Eldarov at #BRAVECF46

Can the Brazilian striker make history and become the new BRAVE CF Super Lightweight world champion? pic.twitter.com/QkA3WEcFl6

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) December 25, 2020

The co-main event of the card sees the promotional debut of high-touted Russian sambo champion Ali Bagautinov. The 35-year-old is a veteran of the flyweight scene, having fought the likes of Kyoji Horiguchi and Demetrious Johnson; he also holds a win over John Lineker. Bagautinov returns to MMA after dipping his toes into boxing. He will face-off against the 24-year-old Oleg Lichkovakha, who will also be making his first appearance under the BRAVE CF banner.

The 9-bout card will also feature the return of Murtaza Talha. The two-time IMMAF world champion made his successful entry into the pro ranks with a second-round submission win over Vadim Litvin at BRAVE CF 45. The KHK MMA has a lot of hype around him, and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his second pro outing.

Below is the full lineup for BRAVE CF 46.

• Super Lightweight: Eldar Eldarov (12-1) vs Leonardo Mafra (15-5)
• Catchweight (59,5kg): Ali Bagautinov (18-7) vs Oleg Lichkovakha (15-4-0, 2 NC)
• Catchweight (67 kg): Roman Bogatov (10-1) vs Nurzhan Akishev (11-1)
• Heavyweight: Konstantin Erokhin (9-4) vs Zhyrgalbek Chomonov (8-1)
• Catchweight (71kg): Abdisalam Kubanychbek (16-3) vs Jahongir Saidjamolov (14-4)
• Middleweight: Gamzat Khiramagomedov (9-1) vs Rustam Chsiev (3-2)
• Catchweight (68 kg): Magomed Absudalamov (6-0) vs Andrey Lezhnev (19-9)
• Catchweight (90 kg): Murtaza Talha (1-0) vs Dmitriy Krivulets (3-1)
• Lightweight: Murad Bilarov (3-1) vs Fedor Babich (4-4)