Recently, Brave Combat Federation bantamweight champion Stephen Loman of Baguio City, Philippines accepted the challenge issued by Frans Mlambo of Dublin, Ireland. But apparently, Mlambo is not the only fighter who wants to challenge the reigning champion.
Following Mlambo, Jalal Al Daaja of Jordan also expressed his interest in having the opportunity to compete for the bantamweight championship. The Jordanian bantamweight fighter has fought three Brave CF bouts and two of his opponents are Loman’s fellow Team Lakay fighters Jeremy Pacatiw and Crisanto Pitpitunge.
Al Daaja made his Brave CF debut on March 31, 2017. He lost via guillotine choke submission to Mlambo at “Brave 4: Unstoppable” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
On November 17, 2017, Al Daaja secured a technical knockout over Pacatiw at “Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions” in Isa Town, Bahrain followed by a submission victory over Pitpitunge at “Brave 10: The Kingdom Rises” in Amman, Jordan. Both the Team Lakay fighters were defeated by Al Daaja in the first round.
The dominant victory over Pacatiw and Pitpitunge leave Loman as the sole athlete from Team Lakay who is yet to face Al Daaja. Instead of a rematch with Mlambo, Al Daaja has his eyes on the reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion.
Having trained at the famous Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, Al Daaja displayed a more aggressive and all-round style of action in his most recent bout. He is currently representing The Kingdom Fighters of Jordan.
On the other hand, Mlabo trains at Straight Blast Gym Ireland. He is a former International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) gold medalist and he had his only defeat at the hands of Loman.
On September 23, 2016, Loman defeated Mlambo via unanimous decision at “Brave 1: Bahrain,” the inaugural event of the Bahrain-based MMA promotion. After this loss, Mlambo went on to defeat all of his next opponents, namely Al Daaja, Michael Deiga-Scheck and Felipe Efrain.
This makes Mlambo the top contender for the Brave CF Bantamweight Championship, qualifying him for a rematch against Loman although the next bout of the reigning champion has yet to be announced. With the promotion’s bantamweight division expanding and the level of athletes constantly improving, the upcoming fights will prove crucial for all the fighters.
CONAN Daily 