The Filipino Ambassador for Bahrain, Alfonso Ver, believes in the importance of seeing Filipino fighters represented in the biggest stage of combat sports that Brave Combat Federation provides to its athletes. Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid recently talked about the Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion’s debut in the Philippines.

“We have big plans for this year,” Shahid said. “In Asia, we already have a confirmed event in the Philippines, which was something that was requested by Ambassador Alfonso Ver. The fact that we have a Filipino champion in Stephen Loman made the Philippines a no-brainer destination for Brave and this is just the beginning for him and for us as a promotion.”

Since its inception, Brave Combat Federation has counted on Filipino fighters to raise its level and the support from the local fans has been outstanding in the promotion’s pursuit of worldwide recognition. Wherever Brave CF goes, athletes from the Philippines can always count on their fans to make themselves heard.

Aside from reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Stephen Loman, Brave CF counts on the likes of Jeremy Pacatiw, Jon Chris Corton, Crisanto Pitpitunge and Harold Banario, among others, as an ever-growing Filipino contingent joins the likes of Brazil, Jordan and United States as strong countries represented in the Brave roster. In the two years since the promotion’s inaugural event, it has taken its Filipino stars to places such as Brazil, Pakistan, Morocco and Northern Ireland.

Particularly at “Brave 13” in Northern Ireland on June 9, 2018, the Filipino crowd caught the attention of MMA superstar Conor McGregor, who was watching his teammate Frans Mlambo take on Loman for the belt. That support has also been felt in Bahrain as some of the Filipino fighters have used their time in the country for Brave events to influence youngsters from the Philippines that live in Bahrain.

For the last two years, Brave CF has looked to change the landscape of mixed martial arts, with a truly global vision of including all corners of the planet under the same roof. On March 15, 2019, the biggest combat sports property in the Middle East will land for the first time in the Philippines as “Brave 22: Storm of Warriors” promises fireworks for sports fans in the country and those around the world.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the organization has taken big steps in a new sport. Compared to the likes of football and basketball, MMA has only been around since the 1990s.

MMA has already evolved and changed in many ways since its inception. It adapted its rules to gain a wider audience, which is one of the changes that has made it the fastest-growing sport in the world.

Aside from adapting its rules, MMA has also focused on marketable athletes and most promotions choose to invest in fighters with certain types of personalities. On the other hand, Brave CF takes pride in giving a truly global platform to athletes because of their in-cage abilities and fighting qualities, regardless of how they come across to the media.

This has allowed Brave CF to set an example in its two-year run as the fastest-growing promotion in the fastest-growing sport. No other organization has traveled so extensively as Brave CF has in their first two years of operations.

Since September 2016, Brave CF has visited 14 countries: Bahrain, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Jordan, Indonesia, Northern Ireland, Morocco, Colombia, Pakistan, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. The promotion has given opportunities to fighters from more than 40 countries to showcase their abilities to more than 80 countries around the world with a reach close to 800 million homes.

Brave CF insists on blending in local talent with international fighters whenever it lands on a new country, making sure regional fighters have a chance to shine in the biggest of stages and leaving a lasting legacy to the sport in the new areas reached. Meanwhile, here is a clip featuring the reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion: