BRAVE CF president Mohammed Shahid looks ahead to International Combat Week & IMMAF World Championships

Each summer in America, combat sports fans from all around the world fly to Las Vegas for UFC International Fight Week—which typically plays host to one of the biggest MMA bouts of the year. In two weeks time, a similar concept entitled BRAVE International Combat Week will begin in Bahrain. Headed by BRAVE CF, the country hopes to become the Asian equivalent of its North American counterpart.

BRAVE CF was founded in 2016 by the first ever MMA fighter to compete out of Bahrain, Mohammed Shahid, and a member of the Bahraini royal family, His Highness Shaikh Khaled bin Hamad Al Khalifa. In the company’s three year history, they have already put on 27 shows, and have visited 16 different territories. It’s a schedule that has given weight to BRAVE CF’s claim that they are ‘the only true global MMA organisation.’ Shahid has been keen to express that BRAVE CF is not a promotion—it is a vision to elevate the sport of MMA to the next level, and take it from the event business to the sports business.

One small step in this bigger picture was the invite-only event that the organization put on in London, England over the summer. Leading up to the show, BRAVE CF had stated that the evening would be incredibly important in the sport’s growth in Europe and would go down in history as a landmark moment for the sport. A few months later, Shahid believes the show was a great success and that fans in the region would see its impact in the future.

“Organizations that put on events in the UK often turn up, deliver a live show and then just leave,” said Shahid. “There is no lasting legacy and the market is often forgot about until the next event schedule comes around. After our London show, many government officials and potential sponsors were impressed by what they saw. So, they have an interest in helping to develop MMA in Europe, which is the continent that the sport’s world often look to for inspiration and guidance.”

BRAVE International Combat Week takes place through November 10th-16th and BRAVE CF 29 plays a key part in the largest combat sports festival in Asia. This will be the company’s biggest show of the year and is set to feature athletes from 18 different nations in 15 bouts. That includes a flyweight title co-main event between UFC veteran, Jose ‘Shorty’ Torres and Marcel Adur for the vacant belt. BRAVE CF are also bringing the legendary voice of PRIDE, Lenne Hart, along for the show. She will share announcing duties with their regular man on the microphone, Carlos Kremer.

Arguably the biggest moment of the night will see the inaugural KHK openweight champion crowned in a four-man, one-night tournament. The winner will receive a $100,000 check, and a belt with 6.2kg of gold (more than the FIFA World Cup trophy, the Vince Lombardi Trophy for NFL, the Larry O’Brien trophy for the NBA, and the Wimbledon trophy). Fighters from all around the world were encouraged to sign up to be considered for the tournament, whether they were signed to a promotion or not, and a special committee decided on the 15 that would move forward for the next phase of the selection process. Notable names including Alexander Emelianenko, Gilbert Yvel, Cole Miller, and Alex Garcia all applied to be part of the final bracket, but only five could make up the field (four for the semi-finals and one as an alternate in case of injury).

A recent press release from BRAVE CF revealed that multiple-time kickboxing champion and UFC veteran, Guto Inocente (7-4), is scheduled to face undefeated sambo fighter, Azamat Murzakanov (7-0) in one semi-final. The winner of that contest will move on to the main event of the evening, against the victor between French veteran, Malik Merad (24-16), and submission specialist, Moise Rimbon (25-12-3). Powerful striker, Mohammad Fakhreddine (10-3, 1NC), will serve as the alternate for the tournament, and competes at a lower weight class than his fellow KHK World Championship participants. Shahid was keen to discuss why this concept has been introduced and had a response to skeptics who question the safety of the openweight aspect of the tournament.

“The inaugural KHK World Championship is the next step in our vision to bring the MMA and sports world together,” explained Shahid. “I have made it clear for a while that different promotions around the world should come together for the overall development of MMA and to elevate its status. I hope that this in some way helps move towards my ultimate goal. The KHK World Championship belt is not linked to any promotion, as it represents an individual’s legacy and sporting merit over anything else. Again, this is all about trending further towards the sports business rather than the events business. The winner of the inaugural belt won’t defend the title. Like the World Cup and other major sporting tournaments, this will be part of the winner’s history forever. So, it isn’t something that they need to return to try and keep hold of next year. It is important to create a legacy for our sport, and the KHK belt will be exactly that.”

“When it comes to concerns about the safety aspects of our one-night, openweight tournament, we need to remember the history of the sport,” continued Shahid. “MMA is what it is today because a smaller guy beat a bigger competitor. The many rules that were introduced all those years ago were part of legalizing MMA more than safety. Today, the sport has evolved, and we should believe that there are different ways that people who aren’t in the same weight class can strategize to win. Just because someone is bigger, doesn’t mean they have more advantages over someone who is lighter.”

Another key event taking place during BRAVE International Combat Week will be the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championships. This will be the third year running that the World Amateur MMA Championships take place during the festival, after previously being featured during International Fight Week in Las Vegas. Over 500 athletes, from 50+ countries, will compete for medals that often springboard mixed martial artists to the next phase in their developing careers. BRAVE CF work very closely with IMMAF. Shadid has stated that he believes the federation is absolutely key to the company’s long term version for MMA.

“IMMAF are extremely important to the long term future of the sport, because they bring different federations from all countries around the world together,” Shahid said. “I believe that over the coming years many of these federations will organize competitions within their own countries, so there are national champions all around the globe. These champions could then face off against champions from other territories, which again, would add more legitimacy to the sport.”

“The way that IMMAF are structuring their competitions is the way that I think the professional game should be organized. Champions are decided on true, sporting merit rather than other factors like marketability and mainstream appeal. I wish the professional game would follow this model, and that remains my own and BRAVE CF’s long term mission. All fans from around the world should watch the IMMAF World Championships in two weeks time—as it will give them a sneak peak of the stars of tomorrow, while also supporting a federation which is essential to the sport’s long term growth.”

Fans around the world will be able to purchase BRAVE CF 29 live on FITE TV on November 15th. The IMMAF World Championships can be viewed live on IMMAF.TV from November 11th through the 16th.