Mohamed Said Maalem (©BRAVE Combat Federation)

“L’Ambiance” Mohamed Said Maalem, 37, will solely represent Algeria at “BRAVE CF 45.” For him, winning in the upcoming BRAVE Combat Federation event is a proof that his win at “BRAVE CF 33” was not a fluke.

Maalem made his BRAVE CF debut at “BRAVE CF 33,” which took place at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium Sports Hall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 27, 2019. He defeated Todd “The Black Hulk” Stoute, 36, of Canada and Trinidad and Tobago via unanimous decision.

As the “BRAVE CF 33” main card started, the spotlights were on Stoute, a long-time veteran of the North American circuit who was finally making the move to the big leagues. The Algerian MMA fighter’s arrival from the local scene to the global platform was much more discreet.

However, favoritism does not play a role after the bell rings and Maalem put on a truly MMA clinic for 15 minutes, punishing Stoute throughout the bout. Almost a year has passed since the biggest win of his career took place and now, the Algerian MMA fighter is ready to prove that it was not by chance.

On November 12, 2020, Maalem will take on Zvonomir “Croatian Sensation” Kralj, 28, of Sweden at “BRAVE CF 45” at the Bahrain National Stadium in East Riffa, Bahrain. It will be the Algerian contender’s second BRAVE CF fight.

Kralj is coming out of two consecutive wins in BRAVE CF. He knocked out Samir Sadoun of Sweden at “BRAVE CF 39” and Fatih Aktas, 31, of Turkey at “BRAVE CF 40” both via leg kicks and punches.

Again, Maalem seems to be in the underdog position, which he is no stranger to. He feels pretty confident in seeing his opponent being regarded as a regional sensation.

“BRAVE CF 45” features nine MMA matches. Maalem and Kralj will battle it out in the light heavyweight division in the seventh bout of the evening.

Kralj holds a professional MMA record of 7 wins and 3 losses. Maalem has 9 wins and 3 losses.