In a superb all-African championship battle, Zimbabwe’s Nicholas Hwende produced an excellent performance to dethrone defending champion Nkosi Ndebele and capture the BRAVE CF bantamweight title at BRAVE CF 91.
The Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town played host to the first leg of a BRAVE CF double-header during BRAVE CF International Combat Week in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Hwende ensured that there was a big championship celebration as he delivered the performance of his career to claim 135-pound gold.
Hwende had to earn his title the hard way, as he and South Africa’s Ndebele battled for the full 25-minute duration in a tightly-contested clash that went all the way to the judges’ scorecards. In the end, Hwende’s ground skills proved to be the deciding factor as he edged Ndebele to claim the title with scores of 48-47 on all three scorecards.
The preceding fight might just have produced the next title challenger at 135 pounds, as Bahrain’s own Hamza Kooheji stopped Turkey’s Alperen Karabulut in the second round to put himself in the frame for a 2025 title shot.
The event also saw the return to BRAVE CF of former UFC flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev, who made short work of his short-notice opponent to score a dominant victory.
After his original opponent Luthando Biko withdrew from the fight during fight week, BRAVE CF’s matchmakers scrambled to find a replacement, with Filipino Joevincent “Chain” So stepping in to face “The Punisher”.
Despite a lively opening from So, Mokaev quickly got to work and, after taking the Filipino to the mat, he quickly moved into position to lock up a D’Arce choke and claim the finish in under two minutes on his return to the promotion.
The night also featured the latest bout in the career of Congolese welterweight Eliezer Kubanza, who edged Bahrain’s Zagid Gaidarov after three hard-fought rounds.
Kubanza, who had steamrolled each of his previous opponents, was expected to face the toughest test of his career in the form of sambo specialist Gaidarov, and that’s exactly how it played out as the pair battled back and forth in an excellent three-round catchweight contest.
But, when the judges returned their verdict, it was “King Kong” whose hand was raised in victory as he moved to 7-0 and edged ever closer to a shot at the welterweight title.
Earlier in the night, former amateur standout Sabrina de Sousa claimed the second win of her fledgling pro career with a buzzer-beating armbar finish of Mariane Mariano.
De Sousa finished Mariano with just 13 seconds left on the clock to continue her winning start to life in the pro ranks. But, after missing weight earlier in the week, there’s still some work to do behind the scenes if De Sousa is going to continue to campaign at flyweight. A move to 135 pounds might not be out of the question if those struggles continue.
BRAVE CF 91: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Ubaidulla Tagirov def. Abdelilah Azouzzi via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:13
- Nicholas Hwende def. Nkosi Ndebele via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) – for bantamweight title
- Hamza Kooheji def. Alperen Karabulut via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:23
- Muhammad Mokaev def. Joevincent So via submission (D’arce choke) – Round 1, 1:52
- Dias Yerengaipov def. Marciano Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Eliezer Kubanza def. Zagid Gaidarov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Sabrina de Sousa def. Mariane Mariano via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 4:47
- Mohammed Alsameea def. Salah Walid via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 2, 0:33
- Hussain Al Kurdi def. Seif Shawki via knockout (knee) – Round 3, 2:25
- Kantemir Shibzukhov def. Adam Khalilov via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
