Brave 5: Go For Glory (also known as Brave 5) was a mixed martial arts event held live by the Brave Combat Federation on Sunday April 22, 2017, at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai, India. The event was broadcast live online and locally through Bahrain TV, ABS-CBN Sports and Action, Combate, Claro Sports and OSN Sports.

Brave 5: Go For Glory
PromotionBrave Combat Federation
DateApril 22nd, 2017
VenueSardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium
CityMumbai, India
Event chronology
Brave 4: Unstoppable Brave 5: Go For Glory Brave 6: Kazakhstan

Background

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Brave 2: Dynasty was Brave Combat Federation's fifth card, the third to take place outside Bahrain, where the company headquarters is located, and the first one in the Indian Subcontinent.

Mohammad Farhad was supposed to face Aziz Julaidan in a featured bantamweight bout but Julaidan was forced to withdraw due to a last-minute injury. India's Irfan Khan[1] was then called and fought Farhad in the only match between Mumbai-based fighters.

Bahrain's Hamza Kooheji was supposed to fight India's Chaitanya Gavali in a featured bantamweight bout but was injured during a training session and pulled from the card.[2] Hamza was replaced by Jeremy Pacatiw, from the Philippines.

The Muneer-Mangat rivalry

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Labeled by the local media as the biggest rivalry in the history of combat sports in India,[3] the bad blood between Gurdarshan Mangat and Abdul Muneer started with a fan poll conducted by The Fan Garage to pick the best Indian fighter in 2016, won by Muneer.[4]

A fight was then set in India to determine who was the country's best fighter. Since they do not compete in the same division, Gurdarshan moved up to featherweight for the bout, set as the co-main event of the evening.[5]

After an extensive war of words before the match,[6] the rivalry reached its peak during the official weigh-ins, a day before the event when Gurdarshan and Muneer almost started a fight[7] on the stage after an intense staredown.

The main event controversy

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Originally a decision win in favor of Carl Booth, the main event of the evening was surrounded by controversy,[8] being eventually overturned into a no contest.

The fight was supposed to be a 5-minute x 5-round bout but ended up being finished between rounds 4 and 5. The All India Mixed Martial Arts Federation (AIMMAF) opened and investigation and decided to overturn the result to a no contest.[9]

Aftermath

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After their fight, Gurdarshan and Muneer showed a great amount of respect for each other.[10] Meanwhile, Irfan Khan expressed his desire to have a rematch with Mohammed Farhad.[11] At the same time, Ahmed Faress[12] and Mohammed Farhad noted that they would love to fight Mangat next.

Broadcast

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The event was broadcast internationally online for free through Brave's official website and YouTube channel. In addition, the card was also broadcast in Bahrain through Bahrain TV, OSN Sports, Claro Sports, Combate, and ABS-CBN Sports and Action.

Broadcasting team

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  • Play-by-play commentator: Cyrus Fees
  • Color Commentator: Rama Reddy
  • Cage announcer: Carlos Kremer

Results

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Main Card (TV) [13]
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Welterweight  Carl Booth vs.  Tahar Hadbi No Contest (Time keeping issue) 3 5:00 [a]
Featherweight   Gurdarshan Mangat def.  Abdul Muneer Decision (unanimous) (30x26, 30x27, 30x27) 3 5:00
Featherweight  Jakub Kowalewicz def.  Alex "Leko" Da Silva Decision (unanimous) (29x28, 29x28, 29x28) 3 5:00
Lightweight  Erick Carlos da Silva def.  Brian Hooi Decision (Split) (29x28, 28x29, 29x28) 3 5:00
Bantamweight   Jeremy Pacatiw def.   Chaitanya Gavali Decision (Split) (30x27, 29x30, 30x27) 3 5:00
Catchweight (68kg)   Alejandro Martinez def.   Paulo "Bananada" Gonçalves TKO (punches) 2 4:37
Featherweight   Nelson Paes vs.   Rolando Dy No Contest (Accidental clash of heads) 1 0:28 [b]
Bantamweight   Mohammad Farhad def.   Irfan Khan TKO (punches) 1 0:40
Preliminary card (bravefights.com)
Bantamweight   Ahmed Faress def.   Bharat Khandare Submission (Armbar) 1 3:19
Lightweight   Hardeep Rai def.   Arnan Chaiyasan Submission (Armbar) 1 2:10
  1. ^ Fight originally scheduled for 5 rounds; was finished after the 3rd
  2. ^ Referee Marc Goddard considered the clash of heads non-intentional and declared the fight a no contest

Bonus Awards

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  • Fight of the Night: Haider Farman x Jomar Pa-ac
  • Knockout of the Night: Carl Booth
  • Submission of the Night: Elias Boudegzdame

References

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  1. ^ "Brave 5's Irfan Khan: 'If he wants better opponents, he needs to face me first' - Pro MMA Now".
  2. ^ "Injured Hamza Kooheji pulled from Brave 5; last minute replacement announced - BRAVE Fights". www.bravefights.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  3. ^ "Brave 5 Results: Gurdarshan Mangat Comes Out On Top, Booth Defeats Habdi - The Fan Garage (TFG)". 23 April 2017.
  4. ^ "#TFGfanspeak Poll: 2016 Indian MMA Fighter Of The Year – Male: Abdul Muneer - The Fan Garage (TFG)". 30 December 2016.
  5. ^ Brand, Jeremy (6 April 2017). "Brave 5 fight card announced featuring Indian heroes' clash and international stars".
  6. ^ "Interview of Abdul Muneer by Renjith Ravindran for The Fan Garage". The Fan Garage. 7 April 2017.
  7. ^ MMASucka (23 April 2017). "Indian rivals steal the show with brawl at Brave 5 weigh-ins".
  8. ^ "Brave 5's Tahar Habdi vs Carl Booth result under appeal". 26 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Brave official statement on AIMMAF's decision on Booth vs Hadbi - BRAVE Fights". www.bravefights.com.
  10. ^ "Gurdarshan Mangat Extends Courtesy To Muneer, Also Has A Message For Future Opponents | The Fan Garage (TFG)". thefangarage.com. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  11. ^ "Interview of Irfan Khan by Renjith Ravindran for The Fan Garage". The Fan Garage. 8 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Interview of Ahmed Faress by Renjith Ravindran for The Fan Garage". The Fan Garage. 18 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Brave CF 5 - MMA Event Page - Tapology". Tapology.