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A Russian gladiator is stepping into the octagon at Friday’s ‘Brave – The Beginning’ event, the first instalment of the Brave Combat Federation’s push towards establishing a strong Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) base in the Middle East, after local favourite Mohammad Fakhreddine had to pull out due to a late injury.
Gadzhimusa Gaziev took a last minute call to fight 25-year-old undefeated Brazilian Thiago Vieira at Khalifa Sports City after Fakhreddine damaged his knee in training.
The final stages of the Lebanese’s star regime involved an intense weight-cut where he had to shed a large amount of his body fat, and it was during sprint training where the injury occurred.
He said: “It’s such a shame I had to pull out of this fight. This has never happened before. I’ve fought with a broken wrist and a broken rib, but now it’s different as I blew my knee while I was running for my weight cut.
“It was the last hard running and I was doing sprints. As I was taking off my knee popped and as much as a hate this, I am glad it happened now and not during the fight. I will get the surgery done and I’ll be back stronger and more focused than ever with bad intentions, to claim what’s mine.”
With a professional record of six wins, four of them by the way of knockout, Gaziev has only one loss as a professional. The 24-year-old from Daguestan won his last two bouts and will make his international debut in Bahrain, after competing seven times in his home country.
Training at the highly-decorated Gorets MMA team, Gaziev has a solid boxing background and guarantees he’s not afraid of his opponent’s credentials. “Thiago is a high-level striker but I’m ready for the war against him,” he vowed.
In turn, Vieira is still undefeated in professional MMA, with eight wins, all of them by the way of knockout or submission. After winning a national championship and Brazil, and standing out in the South American circuit, the man nicknamed ‘Monstro’ is also set to make his international debut at Brave and display his extensive use of Muay Thai skills where he throws chopping kicks to the legs and body to set up his punches.
Other fights on the card will see Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady (5-1) look to settle his differences with Rami Aziz (8-3), Richie Martinez (3-1) taking on one of Egypt’s brightest prospects Ahmed Amir (5-1), and Frans Mlambo (2-1) battling with Stephen Loman (6-2).
Tickets priced BD10, BD15 and BD25 are available at www.bravefights.com or from the Virgin Megastore in City Centre Bahrain. Doors open at 6pm.
