Brave Combat Federation returned with Brave 5: Go For Glory today. Arguably, the biggest event in Indian MMA history, Brave 5 was headlined by the fight between Carl Booth and Tahar Habdi. But all eyes, however, were on the co-main event between Abdul Muneer and Gurdarshan Mangat, which has been an iconic rivalry so far.
Apart from these two blockbuster fights, Brave 5 had a string of other mouth-watering fights o the showcase and below are the live updates and results from the event.
Hardeep Rai def. Arnan Chaiysan via submission (1st Round)
Hardeep had Arnan on the back foot from the start itself. The superior ground game of Hardeep was on showcase and at the two minute mark, Hardeep locked in an arm bar to end the fight.
Ahmed Faress def. Bharat Kandare via submission (1st Round)
Kandare made his return to the MMA cage after a gap of nearly four years. Both the fighters had a cautious start and spent some time in the clinch early on. Ahmed piled up constant pressure while Kandare was having some trouble finding his range. Midway through the first round, Kandare landed a takedown but it backfired when Ahmed locked in a triangle to which Kandare tapped.
Mohammad Farhad def. Irfan Khan via KO (1st Round)
Irfan Khan started the fight with some leg kicks as a cautious Farhad advanced. Farhad soon landed a big right hook inside the first minutes of the fight itself to get a TKO win.
Nelson Paes vs. Rolando Gabriel ended in a no contest after accidental clash of heads
Nelson Paes entered the cage to a huge reaction. Both fighters seem poised to put on a big show for the fans but an accidental clash of heads early in the first round got the officials puzzled. Nelson was cut due to the same and the officials decided to call it a no contest.
Alejandro Martinez def. Paulo Bananada via TKO (Second Round)
Brazilian veteran Paulo Da Silva faced off against Alejandro Martinez next. It became the first fight of the night to go beyond the first round. Paulo had a strong showing in the first round and opened the second round in an explosive manner. Paulo seemed to be going for another good round but the tides turned in favour of Martinez soon. A split second of mistake from Paulo led to Martinez landing on top. The Mexican soon ended the fight via ground and pound.
Jeremy Pacatiw def. Chaitanya Gavali via split decision
The first major action of the first round came thanks to Chaitanya Gavali who landed a takedown. Pacatiw, who took the fight on a short notice, was put on the back foot immediately. Gavali was trying to restrict the fight to the ground and scored his second takedown halfway through the first round. The strong ground game of Gavali was no match for the young fighter from Philippines who struggled throughout the first round.
Pacatiw tried to get back in control in the second round with a flying knee only to concede another takedown. But this time around, Pacatiw managed to get on top and delivered some ground and pound. Pacatiw was edging towards a finish when Gavali was saved by the bell.
The pace of the fight slowed down considerably in the third round. Both fighters were seen exchanging kicks and punches. Things turned around when Gavali scored a takedown, much to the delight of the crowd. Soon, it became the first fight to go the distance.
Indio Brabo def. Brian Hooi via split decision
Brabo vs. Hooi proved to be the second fight of Brave 5 to go the distance. The fighters delivered a contrasting performance in the first round as Hooi dominated on the stand up with Brabo showing his brilliance in the ground. Brabo’s strong ground game was the major factor in the second round as well as he got some good offence. Hooi started off the third with a flying knee attempt only to be taken down by Brabo once again. The last round ended with Brabo landing yet another takedown and working on the ground.
Jakub Kowalewicz def. Alex Leko via unanimous decision
A takedown from Jakub was the highlight of the first round. Despite landing it perfectly, a well-rounded Leko managed to stay active on the ground and didn’t take much damage. Leko then carried this confidence into the second round where he delivered a vicious head kick which helped him to get into the top position.
Jakub, however, somehow managed to get back to his feet and landed a takedown of his own. Leko managed to reverse the advantage and marked the start of another to and fro battle on the ground. A similar to and fro story unfolded in the third round before the final bell rang.
Gurdarshan Mangat def. Abdul Muneer by unanimous decision
The biggest rivalry till date in Indian MMA did not disappoint the fans. Things got nasty in the first round itself when Muneer took an accidental low blow from Mangat. The referee paused the fight due to the incident. After the restart, both fighters were looking to get the upper hand with Muneer pushing for a takedown towards the end of the first round when Mangat had an answer for every move from Muneer.
Both the fighters carried the high pace of the first round into the second and exchanged some big blows early in the round itself. Mangat managed to get on top of Muneer midway through the second round but Muneer restricted him to half guard and stayed in the fight. A choke attempt from Mangat followed by was fended off by Muneer, in turn, giving the fans some great action. Mangat ended the second round on a strong note.
Muneer tried to bounce back strongly in the third round with some wild shots. Mangat, however, managed to keep the threat at bay and took the fight to the ground. The referee made the fighters stand up at a certain point but Mangat once again scored a takedown to steer the fight in his favour.
Carl Booth def. Tahir Habdi via unanimous decision
Booth started the fight by keeping Habdi away with leg kicks. Habdi, however, managed to land a strong left later in the first round but Booth managed to shake it off and survive into the second round. Habdi’s domination, however, was carried into the second round as well as Booth seemed out of place. A combination from Habdi soon forced Booth to make a move which resulted in a clinch. The fight turned bloody soon as both Booth and Habdi were cut heading into the close of round 2.
The blood, however, did not slow down the two as they exchanged some bombs in the middle of the cage in the third round. The fight, however, went to the distance despite some the fighters exchanging some deadly shots.