BRAVE CF will crown their first ever flyweight champion in a tournament format.
The promotion has recently invested in their 125-pound division, adding ex-UFC flyweights [autotag]Dustin Ortiz[/autotag], [autotag]Jose Torres[/autotag] and [autotag]Zach Makovsky[/autotag] to their ever-growing roster.
In November 2018, Russia’s [autotag]Velimurad Alkhasov[/autotag] defeated [autotag]Marcel Adur[/autotag] for the vacant flyweight title at BRAVE CF 18 but was not crowned champion due to missing weight.
So to crown the promotion’s inaugural 125-pound champion, BRAVE CF officials decided to hold a flyweight tournament, which will include four quarterfinal fights featuring eight of the best 125-pounders across the world.
In the first quarter-final fight former Titan FC dual-champ Torres (9-1) will face former CFFC flyweight champ [autotag]Sean Santella[/autotag]. Torres is coming off a unanimous decision win over current UFC flyweight Amir Albazi in his BRAVE CF debut in April 2019. Santella (23-7) has won his last three in a row, successfully defending his CFFC flyweight title last September in a unanimous decision win over Blaine Shutt before later vacating the belt to pursue additional opportunities.
In the second quarterfinal fight, Brazil’s Adur (15-5) will face newly-signed UFC veteran Ortiz (19-8). Adur has won four of his last five and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Marlon Derik last August at BRAVE CF 25. Ortiz saw his three-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Joseph Benavidez in January 2019 and he hasn’t competed since.
In the third quarterfinal fight, Brazil’s [autotag]Flavio de Queiroz[/autotag] takes on Alkhasov. Winner of his last three in a row, de Queiroz (12-2) made good in his BRAVE CF debut, submitting Jean Felipe Souza in the first round last August. Alkhasov (6-1) has already competed against three of the tournament’s participants, with wins over Santella and Adur and a split-decision loss to Makovsky.
In the final quarterfinal fight, Makovsky (21-9) will take on 2016 IMMAF gold medalist [autotag]Abdul Hussein[/autotag]. Makovsky is enduring a rough stretch lately, dropping five of his last eight. However, he is coming off a split-decision win over one of the tournament’s favorites, Alkhasov, at BRAVE CF 34 in January. Hussein (7-1) has only one blemish on his record and is coming off three straight wins, two by submission.
The order and dates of the matchups are expected to be announced soon.
The full tournament lineup includes:
- Sean Santella vs. Jose Torres
- Marcel Adur vs. Dustin Ortiz
- Velimurad Alkhasov vs. Flavio de Queiroz
- Abdul Hussein vs. Zach Makovsky
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