The fight headlined BRAVE CF 89 in Tenerife, Spain, where Cado started well and even had the champion in trouble for a moment during a well-contested opening round. But in the second round, Magomedov looked to use his ground game as he took the Brazilian to the mat.
But with the champion in top position, he unloaded a salvo of elbows, with repeated shots hitting the back of Cado’s head and leaving him cut and bleeding. The referee stepped in, stopped the fight and disqualified Magomedov.
It meant that Cado was crowned the promotion’s new 175-pound champion, Brazil’s sixth champion in BRAVE Combat Federation, while Magomedov suffered the first loss of his pro MMA career.
In the co-main event, Ireland’s Richie Smullen claimed a 29-second submission of Spain’s Jose Sanchez, courtesy of a guillotine choke, while Smullen’s compatriot, flyweight Gerard Burns also picked up an impressive victory on his move up to bantamweight. Burns is prepared to fight across both flyweight and bantamweight to chase his BRAVE CF title dreams, and after his win he called out returning star Muhammad Mokaev as he offered the BRAVE CF matchmakers a mouth-watering option for later this year or early in 2025.
Also on the card, there was a first-round finish for former Bellator featherweight Ilias Bulaid, while Anuar Bensayid and Sino Sabzaliev went back and forth in a thrilling battle that that ended in a TKO victory for Bensayid after his leg kicks finally became too much for Sabzaliev to handle.
BRAVE CF 89: Official results
- Luiz Cado def. Kamal Magomedov via disqualification (illegal elbows to the back of the head) – Round 2, 0:30 – for super welterweight title
- Richie Smullen def. Jose Sanchez via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:29
- Ilias Bulaid def. Anthony Riggio via TKO (leg kicks) – Round 1, 4:01
- Anuar Bensayiid def. Sino Sabzaliev via TKO (leg kick and punches) – Round 3, 2:52
- Andrea Meneses Garcia def. Adriana Fusini via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:06
- Gerard Burns def. Santiago Paiva via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Oscar Mendez def. Tony Sipos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
