The event, which was co-promoted with local promotion WFC, was headed by a battle for the vacant BRAVE CF middleweight title, as former two-division champion Mohammad Fakhreddine recaptured the title with a huge one-shot knockout of light heavyweight champion Erko Jun.
The pair carefully probed for openings through a tight, tactical opening round, but as the opening stanza headed into its final minute, both men started to open up and load up with their strikes.
And, with the final seconds of the round counting down, Fakhreddine stepped into the pocked and let rip a flurry of hooks, with a big right hand connecting behind Jun’s left ear and sending him face-first to the canvas.
THE ONE. THE ONLY. MOHAMMED FAKHREDDINE STANDS ALONE AT THE TOP🏆
He never lost it, and he's once again the BRAVE CF Middleweight World Champion of the World 👏🏻
What a night of fights!
[#BRAVECF96 #WFC #Ljubljana #Slovenia #MMA] pic.twitter.com/FuYBSpeyHT
— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) June 8, 2025
It was a huge knockout, and it saw Fakhreddine reunited with the middleweight title he never lost inside the cage.
There was also new champion crowned in the co-main event, as Zimbabwe’s Nicholas Hwende was sensationally dethroned in his first title defence by Serbian Borislav Nikolic, who locked up a Ninja choke to force the finish and claim a dramatic come-from-behind win in the fourth round of their bantamweight title fight.
Nikolic invested in leg kicks early as he hammered Hwende’s lead leg with nasty kicks, while backing up those kicks with a ramrod jab. But Hwende was every bit as aggressive early as he connected with some solid shots and dropped the challenger in the final minute of the round.
Despite a rough finish to the opening round, Nikolic rallied in the second and had Hwende in major trouble as he locked up a guillotine choke, but the champion survived the hold took the fight straight back to the Serbian. But, despite that submission opportunity, Nikolic found himself on the receiving end of Hwende’s consistent striking.
After Nikolic’s swollen left eye was inspected by the cageside doctor between rounds, the action resumed in Round 3, with Hwende looking to dominate the striking exchanges once again. Nikolic attemted to fire back with shots of his own, but anything he landed seemingly had no effect on Hwende, who appeared to be well on his way to victory as the bout headed into the championship rounds.
Almost certainly down three rounds on the scorecards and with his left eye almost swollen shut, things looked bleak for Nikolic, but in Round 4 he turned the tables on the champion and secured an incredible finish.
As Hwende continued to push forward, Nikolic unleashed a huge left hook that put champion on wobbly legs. The Serbian saw his opportunity and pounced as he locked up a Ninja choke that rendered Hwende unconscious.
Serbia has a new World Champion in Borislav Nikolić!🏆
A comeback for the ages after 3 rounds of being outclassed!🔝#BRAVECF96 #WFC #MMA #Slovenia pic.twitter.com/cW5A4Kkujd
— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) June 8, 2025
It meant that, after finding himself on the receiving end for three rounds, Nikolic dethroned the champion and captured the title in a fight BRAVE CF commentator Phil Campbell hailed as his “favourite fight in the history of BRAVE Combat Federation”.
Slovenian fighters went 4-2 during the event, with strawweight sensation Monika Kucinic’s second-round body-kick TKO of Sofiia Bagishvili the undoubted highlight. But there were also victories for heavyweight Miha Frlic, Domen Drnovsek and Chiril Negru.
Promise delivered!✅️ Statement made!🔥
Monika Kucinic gets the job done in style!👏🏻
Watch the next fight live on https://t.co/J5AhA9NK7j#BRAVECF96 #WFC #MMA #Slovenia pic.twitter.com/qT8qA2FqiT
— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) June 7, 2025
BRAVE CF 96: Official results
- Mohammad Fakhreddine def. Erko Jun via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:43 – for middleweight title
- Borislav Nikolic def. Nicholas Hwende via submission (Ninja choke) – Round 4, 1:42 – for bantamweight title
- Miha Frlic def. Shah Kamali via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 0:27
- Monika Kucinic def. Sofiia Bagishvili via TKO (body kick and punches) – Round 2, 4:54
- Marciano Ferreira def. Bidzina Gavashelishvili via unanimous decision
- Arkadiusz Palkowski def. Jan Berus via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:26
- Kristjan Toniste def. David Forster via unanimous decision
- Domen Drnovsek def. Filip Gusa via unanimous decision
- Chiril Negru def. Robert Guth via unanimous decision
