Report: Cian Cowley looks for a quick turnaround after Brave 18 win

Cian Cowley wasted no time in getting his second professional win last Friday at Brave 18, held in Manama, Bahrain. The Ireland representative overwhelmed Hardeep Rai with a barrage of leg kicks, eventually crumbling his opponent for a first-round TKO, the second in his Brave Combat Federation career. And right after the fight, Cowley revealed he wanted to compete one more time in 2018.

Results & Rewind: Al-Selwady becomes undisputed champ and Loman defends his title at Brave 18

It was a night to remember for Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady as he became Brave’s undisputed lightweight champion after an injury forced Lucas “Mineiro” to tap out during the first round of their Brave 18 main event.

“The Pride of Palestine” was on point with his striking, heavy pressure and persistent straight punches. When the Jordanian phenom closed the distance and got a takedown, Mineiro’s knee gave out and he was forced to tap out, relinquishing his interim title in the process.

In the co-main event, Stephen Loman was able to nullify the challenger Felipe Efrain’s offence throughout a tense five-round battle, maintaining his bantamweight crown and becoming the first-ever Brave champion to successfully defend his belt twice.

The flyweight title bout was another five-round battle, as Marcel Adur had good moments to close the show and become the first-ever divisional champion. In the end, he had to settle for a decision loss against Velimurad Alkhasov. Since the Russian powerhouse didn’t make weight, the belt remains vacant and both men will most likely rematch in the near future.

Elsewhere, there were landmark TKO wins for Bahrain’s Hussain Ayyad and McGregor teammate, Cian Cowley, as they dominated Mohamed Abo Ali and Hardeep Rai, respectively, finishing them in the first round.

In the main card opening bout, Luan “Miau” Santiago returned to the Brave cage with a flawless and tactical victory, as the one-time title challenger outpointed a tough and resilient Djamil Chan to get back to winning ways for Brave.

The full Brave 18/WFCA 54 full results are as follows:

Main card

• Lightweight: Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady def. Lucas Martins via TKO (referee stoppage) in R1
• Bantamweight: Stephen Loman def. Felipe Efrain via unanimous decision
• Flyweight: Velimurad Alkhasov def. Marcel Adur via unanimous decision
• Flyweight: Hussain Ayyad def. Mohamed Abo Ali via TKO (strikes) in R1
• Catchweight (74 kg): Luan Santiago def. Djamil Chan via unanimous decision

Preliminary card

• Catchweight (73 kg): Cian Cowley def. Hardeep Rai via TKO (strikes) in R1
• Welterweight: Khamzat Chimaev def. Marko Kisic via TKO (strikes) in R1
• Bantamweight: Rakhman Dudaev def. Joe Taimanglo via unanimous decision
• Featherweight: Magomedrasul Khasbulaev def. Rob Emerson via sub (arm-triangle) in R2
• Featherweight: Akhmed Shervaniev def. Antonio Carlos Ribeiro via unanimous decision
• Welterweight: Goity Dazaev def. Vasily Kurochkin via TKO (strikes) in R3
• Featherweight: Anzor Abdulkhozjaev def. Nikolay Kondratuk via TKO (strikes) in R1

Report: SBG’s Cian Cowley set to compete at Brave 18 in Bahrain

Conor McGregor’s SBG teammate, Cian Cowley has extended his current contract with Brave Combat Federation and he will be competing in the Kingdom of Bahrain in November.