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Two days before Brave Combat Federation officially debuts in the Philippines, six of the 18 “Brave 22: Storm of Warriors” contenders lit up the passionate crowd inside the Newport Mall in Resorts World Manila in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The venue is one of the Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion’s entertainment partners for the groundbreaking show.

The “Brave 22: Storm of Warriors” fight night will take place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on March 15, 2019. During the open workouts, the six athletes including Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, 23, of the Philippines and his challenger Elias “Smile” Boudegzdame, 25, of France, the six athletes showcased some of their skills and a little of what can be expected of them on fight night.

As expected, the Filipino fighters received the greatest applause. Loman was one of the most celebrated fighters by the fans as well as his Team Lakay teammate Jeremy “The Juggernaut” Pacatiw, 22, who takes on countryman Mark “The Ruthless” Alcoba, 27.

Loman and Boudegzdame will headline “Brave 22: Storm of Warriors.” In the co-main event, Cian “The Warrior” Cowley, 25, and John Brewin, 24, of Auckland, New Zealand will compete in the lightweight division.

Cowley and Brewin were well received by the crowd during the open workouts. Rolando Gabriel “Dy Incredible” Dy, 28, of the Philippines was also in the event along with his opponent Mehmosh “The Renegade” Raza, 23, of Pakistan.

After the open workouts, the athletes sat down to answer fan and media questions with Brave CF commentator Kirik Jenness at the helm. Boudegzdame was the only one missing from the fighters who did the early open workouts.

Dy lit up the crowd when he talked about the pride he feels in representing his own country at Brave CF. He said, “I’ll be honest; “I was always an average student.”

“I got my college degree because I had to,” Dy confessed. “I was an average basketball player and an awful dancer. Fighting is what I really know; it’s what I love. Being able to be here and representing my country back to Brave, it’s amazing.”

Training out of Bali MMA in Bali, Indonesia, Brewin shared what it meant to him to fight in Manila and promised to put on a show for the Filipino fans. He said, “I’m living the dream.”

“Two years ago, I was here in Manila, cornering one of my good friends and teammate at Bali MMA,” Brewin recalled. “I thought one day, I’ll get back here for my own fight. I never thought it’d be so fast though.”

“I went from all kinds of temporary jobs to co-headlining a card in Manila,” Brewin continued. “I know a lot of people say that their stories are all about struggle and overcoming but that’s nothing but the truth in my case. I live for fighting; I’m here to put on a show and I’ll fight until my last breath.”