The fight started out in the wrestling realm, as Bulgaria’s Kolev took Maalem to the mat and looked to dominate from top position. But as the fight progressed, it eventually turned into a back-and-forth stand-up slugfest as the pair almost punched each other to standstill as they left everything in the cage in 15 minutes of breathless action.
In the end, the pair battled all the way to the scorecards, and as Carlos Kremer prepared to announce the winner, there was genuine doubt over who had done more to earn the victory.
And as Kremer announced the verdict, there was a degree of disappointment in both corners as the fight was scored a majority draw. But, given the way the action had panned out, it seemed a fair verdict after both men gave their all over the course of their 15-minute war.
With the scheduled co-headliner between Pavel Vladev and Abou Touncara a late scratch from the card due to Touncara not being medically clear, the bantamweight clash between Brice Picaud and Lasha Abraamishvili was promoted to the co-main event slot. And, after a back-and-forth battle, it was Georgia’s Abramishvili who prevailed via second-round rear-naked choke.
The other main card attraction saw Bulgaria’s Plamen Penchev claim a highlight-reel knockout as he flatlined Sofiane Bouafia with a huge shot after just 54 seconds of their middleweight matchup.
Preliminary card recap
On the preliminary card, Irish flyweight contender Gerard Burns fought through some late adversity to eventually claim a landslide unanimous decision victory over the dogged Venezuelan Alinson Ochoa.
Burns relentlessly pursued the submission against Ochoa, who looked to counter with heavy Muay Thai strikes. But, as the Venezuelan looked to break down the Irishman mid-way through the third round, he landed an illegal knee while Burns was a grounded fighter.
That infraction resulted in a one-point deduction for Ochoa and, despite a vicious flurry after the restart that briefly had Burns in trouble, the action went all the way to the judges’ scorecards, with Burns taking the victory with scores of
Elsewhere on the preliminary card, Bulgaria’s Deylan Galinov scored one of the biggest finishes of the night with a huge one-shot KO of Abdou Kadirr Sowe in the second round of their middleweight contest.
There was an impressive first-round TKO finish for Bahrain’s Murad Guseinov, who extended his perfect professional record to 9-0 with victory over Gabriel Bula. And Anton Yanchev added another local win for the Bulgarian fans, as he submitted France’s Johan Van de Hel via first-round arm-triangle choke.
The night kicked off with a victory for England’s Mim Grubb, who claimed a shutout win on the scorecards against Germany’s Songul Karatorak.
BRAVE CF 97: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Kaloyan Kolev vs Mohamed Said Maalem scored a majority draw
- Lasha Abramishvili def. Brice Picaud via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:50
- Plamen Penchev def. Sofiane Bouafia via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:54
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Gerard Burns def. Alinson Ochoa via unanimous decision
- Anton Yanchev def. Johan Ven de Hel via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:35
- Murad Guseinov def Gabriel Bula via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 4:05
- Deyan Galinov def. Abdou Kadirr Sowe via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:35
- Mim Grubb def. Songul Karatorak via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
