- George Chung
- Mar 10, 2024
- 3 min read
First leg of the 2024 European Tour takes place in Ljubljana, with BRAVE CF 81 taking place on April 20 and headlined by huge Light Heavyweight clash between Erko Jun and Said Maalem.
The full fight card is here for BRAVE Combat Federation’s first event in 2024 and it will see top European MMA talent having the global opportunity to showcase their skillsets.
BRAVE CF kicks off its 2024 European Tour in style as it lands for the third time in Slovenia with BRAVE CF 81, taking place on April 20, in association with WFC. And fans can expect a truly international fight card, with 13 nations represented.
Fighters from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Algeria, Morocco, Brazil, Slovenia, England, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Albania, Poland, Ireland, Serbia and Italy will be seen in action on the BRAVE CF 81 card which will be the latest chapter in BRAVE CF’s journey of bringing a new era of MMA in Europe.
The main event will see a Light Heavyweight clash between European superstar Erko Jun and one of the biggest MMA names from the MENA region, Said Maalem. Erko Jun comes into the fight on the back of his win in the main event of BRAVE CF 70 where he stopped Marko Drmonjic in the first round and is riding an overall 7-2 pro record, and is ready to glide into the vacant title conversation with another win in a main event in Slovenia.
Algeria’s Said Maalem, on the other hand, has been a mainstay in the Light Heavyweight division of BRAVE CF and even held the world title for a short period of time before the result of his title winning fight against Mohammad Fakhreddine was overturned to a No Contest.
Ismail Naurdiev and Luiz Cado will lock horns in the co-main event of BRAVE CF 81 in a high-stakes Super Welterweight bout. Naurdiev will be making his return to the 175-pound division after his latest outing took place in Middleweight. Cado, meanwhile, will be looking to build on his three-fight winning streak in the organization and start 2024 on a good note.
Hometown hero, Slovenia’s own David Forster and England’s Chad Griffiths will fight it out in a Super Lightweight battle on the main card. David Forster has an opportunity to bounce back from his loss against Mohsen Mohammadseifi which happened at BRAVE CF 79 and won the fan vote for 2023 Fight of The Year. Chad Griffiths has a contrasting storyline compared to his opponent as he will be coming into BRAVE CF 81 after his win over Abbas Khan at BRAVE CF 80.
Pavel Dailidko’s showdown with Valdrin Istrefi will serve as another major attraction. Pavel is one of the best up-and-coming heavyweights in Europe and has already made a name in BRAVE CF by winning his last three fights in the organization through stoppages – he actually became the first fighter to have three victories by KO under the BRAVE CF banner on the same calendar year. Valdrin Istrefi will be making his promotional debut at BRAVE CF 81 and will be looking to utilize the global exposure that the organization brings to the table.
The female Strawweight fight between Monika Kucinic and Silwia Juskiewicz is scheduled to be the main card opener and this fight is bound to set the tone for Women’s MMA in BRAVE CF for 2024.
Along with these action-packed fights on the main card, the preliminary card will feature four fights and will have names like Gerard Burns, Danijel Spoljaric and Haris Aksalic.
BRAVE CF 81 will mark the start of an exciting year of action for the organization as nine events have been announced so far for 2024 with BRAVE CF also returning to Slovenia on 19 October.
BRAVE CF 81, Slovenia
Full Fight Card
Main Card
Light Heavyweight: Erko Jun vs Said Maalem
Super Welterweight: Ismail Naurdiev vs Luiz Cado
Super Lightweight: David Forster vs Chad Griffiths
Heavyweight: Pavel Dailidko vs Valdrin Istrefi
Strawweight: Monika Kucinic vs Silwia Juskiewicz
Preliminary Card
Heavyweight: Haris Aksalic vs Rick Luchtenberg
Heavyweight: Agron Smakici vs Patryk Dubiela
Super Welterweight: Domen Drnovsek vs Andrian Murug
Flyweight: Gerard Burns vs Danijel Spoljaric
