The Middle East Times

Stephen Loman Brave Combat Federation has announced that projects to host events in Philippines are in progress. It was recently confirmed that the Bahrain-based global mixed martial arts promotion is working towards hosting an inaugural event in the home country of reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, 23. “The Philippines has been a focus for Brave Combat Federation from the very beginning,” Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid stated. “From time to time, warriors from the Philippines prove that they have not only the skill to compete in the international level but also the heart that matters when it comes to combat sports.” According to Shahid, his elite team is currently on works to ensure that there will be an event hosted in the near future in Philippines. He noted that Filipino fighters “respect the sport and are model athletes with their attitude and respect towards the sport and will play a crucial role during the coming editions of B

Stephen Loman Brave Combat Federation has announced that projects to host events in Philippines are in progress. It was recently confirmed that the Bahrain-based global mixed martial arts promotion is working towards hosting an inaugural event in the home country of reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, 23. “The Philippines has been a focus for Brave Combat Federation from the very beginning,” Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid stated. “From time to time, warriors from the Philippines prove that they have not only the skill to compete in the international level but also the heart that matters when it comes to combat sports.” According to Shahid, his elite team is currently on works to ensure that there will be an event hosted in the near future in Philippines. He noted that Filipino fighters “respect the sport and are model athletes with their attitude and respect towards the sport and will play a crucial role during the coming editions of B

Stephen Loman Brave Combat Federation has announced that projects to host events in Philippines are in progress. It was recently confirmed that the Bahrain-based global mixed martial arts promotion is working towards hosting an inaugural event in the home country of reigning Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, 23. “The Philippines has been a focus for Brave Combat Federation from the very beginning,” Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid stated. “From time to time, warriors from the Philippines prove that they have not only the skill to compete in the international level but also the heart that matters when it comes to combat sports.” According to Shahid, his elite team is currently on works to ensure that there will be an event hosted in the near future in Philippines. He noted that Filipino fighters “respect the sport and are model athletes with their attitude and respect towards the sport and will play a crucial role during the coming editions of B

Zabit Magomedsharipov (left) Fighting out of Dagestani, Russia, Zabit Magomedsharipov, 27, is scheduled to compete at “UFC 228” September 8, 2018. To prepare for the bout, the Dagestani fighter has arrived in the Kingdom of Bahrain to start his training at  Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts  (KHK MMA) Bahrain. Founded by  His Highness  Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa , 28, and Brave Combat Federation president  Mohammed "The Hawk" Shahid, 28, in February 2015, KHK MMA Bahrain has played host to the training of several MMA stars. Among them are Bellator MMA fighter  James Gallagher and Magomedsharipov’s fellow Dagestani and UFC fighter Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, 29, who is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. Magomedsharipov had a meeting with Al Khalifa and the officials of Brave CF. They discussed MMA in Bahrain and the initiatives directed towards global expansion of the sport.  A featherweight bout between Magomedsharipov and Yair “El P

Alfonso A. Ver (leftmost), Stephen Loman (2nd from left) His Excellency Alfonso A. Ver, Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain hailed the successful title defense of Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, 23, in the United Kingdom. Training out of Team Lakay of Baguio City, Philippines, Loman is the youngest champion in Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion Brave Combat Federation. The Kingdom of Bahrain is host to a sizeable expatriate community from the Philippines. Ver stated, “I join the Filipinos in Bahrain in rejoicing and celebrating the victory of Stephen Loman. He won his Championship Belt in Bahrain and thus we consider him our own champion.” “We are now doubly glad that he was able to defend his title and even if the fight was not in Bahrain, we were all rallying and hoping that he wins,” the Ambassador added. “We hope that he will continue to defend his title and inspire other Filipino fighters to become Brave champions!  Mabuhay, Lakay  Loman! (Long live,

Carlston Harris,  Thiago Vieira Damascena While reigning Brave Combat Federation Welterweight Champion Carlston “Mocambique” Harris, 30, was born in Skeldon, Guyana, he is fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After recovering from an injury, the mixed martial artist is back in training now and he is excited about his first title defense.  “I am expecting my first title defense as early as possible,” Harris stated. “I am waiting for Brave Combat Federation to give me a date, opponent and place regarding the opportunity to defend my championship title.” During Harris’s absence, the welterweight division of Brave CF became one of the toughest divisions in the Bahrain-based MMA promotion. With multiple fighters joining the promotion, the welterweight title is now the most sought after in the promotion. Among the Brave CF athletes fighting in the welterweight division, two are expected to challenge Harris soon. These are Jarrah “The Jordanian Lion” Al-Selawe, 28, of

Headquartered in Muharraq, Bahrain, mixed martial arts promotion  Brave Combat Federation is making history on August 18, 2018. Its 14th event titled “Brave 14” will take place in Tangier, Morocco making it the first ever international MMA event in Africa. It appears that Brave CF is planning to conquer all the continents. After establishing its base in its home continent Asia, the promotion explored South America, North America and most recently Europe. Brave CF was founded on September 23, 2016 by  Sheikh  Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, 28, of the Bahraini royal family Al Khalifa. The promotion is headed by its president Mohammed “The Hawk” Shahid, 29, the KHK Sports CEO and the first fighter from Middle East to headline an international MMA event. The first two events and the ninth event of Brave CF took place at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town, Bahrain. Its third, eighth and 11th events were all hosted in Brazil while its seventh event was held at the Calie

Shamil Gimbatov, Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa ( Instagram/Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa ) As the founder of Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion Brave Combat Federation, His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, 28, leads by example. He won his boxing debut at “KHK Boxing Fight Night” by defeating his Russian opponent. Born on September 13, 1989, Al Khalifa is the son of Bahraini ruler King Hamad and  Sheikha Sheia bint Hassan Al Khrayyesh Al Ajmi . On September 23, 2016,  Al Khalifa established Brave CF, whose holding company is KHK MMA. Al Khalifa is the First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and the Royal Guard Special Unit Commander. On April 28, 2018, he defeated Shamil Gimbatov of Russia in the 79 kg category at “KHK Boxing Fight Night.” Both Al Khalifa and Gimbatov have fought in the MMA cage as well. As an amateur MMA fighter, the Brave CF founder is undefeated. On April 14, 2016, Al Khalifa knocked out Aditya PS of

Abdoul Abdouraguimov Brave Combat Federation has signed a multi-fight agreement with the top-rated French super prospect Abdoul “Sinistro” Abdouraguimov, 22. Hailing from Nantes, France, he is an undefeated mixed martial artist with a professional record of 6 wins and 1 No Contest. Abdouraguimov has fought against some of the stiffest competition in the European Circuit. His only non-victory came by way of No Contest against Georges “The Lebanese Bulldozer” Eid, 27, of Lebanon in a fight for the European Beatdown Welterweight title at “EBD 3” on March 17, 2018 at the Mons Arena in Mons, Belgium. At “EBD 3,” Abdouraguimov dominated from start to finish until an accidental strike to the back of the head resulted in the no contest. Prior to this bout, the French fighter maintained a clean record by defeating Adrien Moreira of Germany, Sofiane “The Lion” Aissaoui and Gael Grimaud of France, Nayeb “The Strangler” Hezam of France, Aleko “Ako” Saghliani of Georgia and Tanauzu “

George Sallfeldt, Densign White, Vadim Finkelchtein, Kerrith Brown PRESS RELEASE The International MMA Federation (IMMAF) and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) have announced an amalgamation towards the global unification of the sport of mixed martial arts. The move is significant for the bid for sport recognition. A joint application will be made to the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).  The agreement also strengthens the application by delivering the required number of an organisation’s member federations which are recognized by sports ministry or national Olympic committee. “The unification of WMMAA and IMMAF has been agreed by both organisations’ members for the betterment of the sport of MMA,” IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said. “As well as strengthening MMA’s bid for sport recognition by the Olympic movement, the move will bring benefits to the members of both organisations including combined championships and events

PRESS RELEASE Brave Combat Federation hosted the official weigh-ins at the Ouro Minas Palace Hotel which was presided by Mohammed Shahid, President of Brave Combat Federation and MMA Legend and pioneer, Wanderlei Silva. The weigh-ins were conducted after performing the mandatory exams to evaluate the fitness of the competing fighters including MRI of Skull and Magnetic Resonance Angiography. Every fighter who made to the final fight card had cleared the weigh-ins which was followed by the face-offs. The fight night marks some of the much awaited moments for MMA in Brazil as the event marks for the first time two Brazilian fighters are featured in the championship bout in Brave Combat Federation when Lucas Martins clashes with Luan Santiago for the interim Lightweight championship. Klidson Farias de Abreau will become the first champion from Brazil to defend his championship as he takes on Matt Baker from Canada in the Light Heavyweight division. The fight card also features 9

Jarrah Al Selawe (4th from the left) and team PRESS RELEASE Representing The Kingdom Fighters from Jordan, Jarrah “The Jordanian Lion” Al-Selawe recently cleared rumors and confirmed that he has signed the contract to face Algeria's Tahar Hadbi in Jakarta, Indonesia at “Brave 12” on May 11, 2018. Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion Brave Combat Federation had announced that it would host its first event in Jakarta, Indonesia. While Al-Selawe did not give further details regarding the fight, he did not the possibility of an interim championship of the promotion to be introduced in Indonesia. Previously, he faced Hadbi’s ObyFight teammate David Bear at “Brave 10: The Kingdom Rises,” which was hosted in Amman, Jordan. Initially, Carlston Harris was scheduled to defend the welterweight championship against Al-Selawe in Amman, Jordan. Harris was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury which brought in Bear as a replacement. The bout was noted for

Tahar Hadbi Tahar “Fast Hands” Hadbi, 30, of Algeria has officially renewed his fight contract with Brave Combat Federation. The three-fight contract of the Algerian welterweight fighter expired after his fight against “The Latest” Mohammed Fakhreddine, 33, of Lebanon at “Brave 10: The Kingdom Rises” held in Amman, Jordan. There were widespread speculations regarding Hadbi leaving the promotion. This was set to an end when he signed a multi-fight contract with the Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion.  Hadbi had two of his bouts ending in no-contests at Brave CF. These are the main event against Carl “The Bomber” Booth of England at “Brave CF 5” and the bout against Fakhreddine at “Brave CF 9: The Kingdom of Champions.” At “Brave 10: The Kingdom Rises,”  Hadbi returned strong to win his final fight in the contract against his rival, Fakhreddine, by TKO in the second round. This also made the Algerian fighter the only fighter to have a victory over the Lebanese fighter

Stephen Loman Brave Combat Federation announced that the roster expansion programs, which are spearheaded by the athlete relations department, are in place. The Bahrain-based promotion will have an extensive talent scouting program to identify potential global talent is in place for the year 2018. Previously, Brave CF had included fighters from Team Lakay of Baguio City, Philippines, which is one of the best gyms of Asia, according to ONE Championship. The Philippines will be one among the key geographies of interest to recruit upcoming talent. Team Lakay’s Stephen Loman is the reigning Bantamweight Champion of Brave CF. This stellar achievement will definitely ensure the promotion to look forward to recruiting talent from the Philippines. With more fighters added to the current roster, Brave CF aims to reach out to the expanding global market. Among the main objectives for the year, the promotion had already announced to host events in additional geographies apart from the

Donald Trump, Mike Pence ( Facebook/Mike Pence ) United States Vice President Michael Richard "Mike" Pence, 58, is set to visit the Middle East in late January 2018. Among the countries he will visit are Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Originally, Pence was scheduled to travel to the transcontinental region in December 2017 but it was postponed. He postponed the trip so he could preside over the vote on a tax overhaul favored by U.S. President Donald Trump. In the original itinerary, Pence was supposed to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed el-Tayeb, the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar. The meetings were cancelled after Trump announced that his administration had decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6, 2017. Pence will leave Washington, D.C. on January 19, 2018. He will arrive in Egypt the next day to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Siss

PRESS RELEASE Oman Ambassador Munther Mahfoodh Al-Mantheri, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Sal Panelo, Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana, Kuwait Ambassador Musaed Saleh Al-Thuwaikh, Morocco Ambassador Mohammed Rida El Fassi, Qatar Ambassador Ali Ibrahim Al Malki, Office of the Middle East & African Affairs Assistant Secretary Joy Quintana, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, Archbishop Gabriele Griordano Caccia, the new papal nuncio to the Philippines and Charge D'Affaires Mr. Ahmed Eddeb of Libya The FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar is  the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup and is the first edition of  the quadrennial international men's football championship  to be held in the Middle East. It is said to be working ahead of schedule and more Filipino workers will be needed. On December 11, 2017, t he State of Qatar celebrated its National Day a week in advance at Makati Shangri-La Hotel to commemorate its First Ruler, Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohamend Bin Thani, with th