Eldar Eldarov (©Brave Combat Federation)
Eldar “Khan” Eldarov, 27, of Russia and Mounir “The Sniper” Lazzez, 31, of Tunisia will compete for the inaugural Brave Combat Federation Super Lightweight Championship at “Brave 23.” Weeks before fight night, the two exchanged strong warnings on social media.
Featuring 12 mixed martial arts bouts, “Brave 23” will take place at the Al Hussein Youth City, Martyr Rashid Al-Ziyoud Hall (Boxing Arena) in Amman, Jordan on April 19, 2019. It is Brave CF’s second event in 2019 following “Brave 22: Storm of Warriors,” which took place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines on March 15, 2019.
Weeks before the “Brave 22: Storm of Warriors” fight night, Brave CF announced that it will have its first ever championship bout in the super lightweight division, which will be contested between Eldarov and Lazzez. With an upper limit set at 165 lbs (74.8 kg), the new division was approved by the Association of Boxing Commissions on July 26, 2017.
On March 30, 2019, Brave CF took to Instagram to share a video featuring Eldarov. In the video, the Russian MMA fighter, who is childhood friends with reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, 30, of Russia, talks about Lazzez.
“I’ll tell you a story,” Eldarov says. “When I first came to Bahrain, I asked the guys who was the best fighter in the region. They said Mounir so I asked to fight him.”
According to Eldarov, Brave CF bantamweight contender Hamza “The Pride of Bahrain” Kooheji, 26, of Bahrain tried to make the fight happen. Both fighters are training out of KHK MMA in Manama, Bahrain.
“So when the Brave matchmaker sent me a message about the fight, I was just laughing and remembering that,” Eldarov shares. “I didn’t ask questions, date, anything. I just said yes.”
After watching the video, Lazzez commented and sent a message to Eldarov. The Tunisian contender wrote, “You finally got your wish, Eldar,”
“I appreciate the compliment and it’s an honor to face you,” Lazzez continued. “But unfortunately, I have to ruin your night by beating you. I hope after we can shake hands and know it’s only business! See you soon.”
Eldarov responded to Lazzez with a short but strong message. The Russian KHK MMA athlete told his Tunisian opponent, “(We) will shake hands definitely, if you are still awake to do it.”
Here is the Brave CF post where Eldarov and Lazzez exchanged messages:
