Conor McGregor congratulates BRAVE CF founder Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Conor “Notorious” McGregor, 32, of Dublin, Ireland congratulated His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the founder of BRAVE Combat Federation. Based in Bahrain, the mixed martial arts promotion recently held its 50th event.

“Huge congratulations to you for your 50th MMA show,” McGregor told Al Khalifa. “(It was) absolutely brilliant. I want to say thank you personally for creating these events for our fighters, the SBG fighters, Irish fighters and fighters all over the world.”

Training out of Straight Blast Gym (SBG) Ireland in Dublin, McGregor was one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters who attended “Brave 13: Europe Evolution” at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 9, 2018. It was the first ever BRAVE CF event held in Europe.

“It’s such a tough business and to have someone like yourself so invested in the sport is crucial for us and I want to say thank you for that so a huge congratulations to you, Sheikh Khalid, on your 50th MMA show,” the former UFC Lightweight Champion told the BRAVE CF founder. “Let’s go, BRAVE CF.”

“BRAVE CF 50” took place at the Arad Fort in Arad, Bahrain on April 1, 2021. In the main event, Ismail Naurdiev, 24, of Austria failed to dethrone reigning BRAVE CF Super Welterweight Champion Jarrah “The Jordanian Lion” Al-Silawi, 29, of Jordan.

Established on September 23, 2016, BRAVE CF is the only MMA to visit 21 countries in five continents in its first 50 events. As the largest sports media property in the Middle East, it has acquired a large MMA market share in Asia with operations developing not only in the Middle Eastern countries but also in India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and the Philippines.

In 2020, BRAVE CF was one of the MMA promotions that managed to hold events amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It held 12 events in 2020 in Slovenia, Romania, Sweden and Bahrain and collaborated with World Freefight Challenge, Real Xtreme Fighting and Bulldog Fight Night.