“The Sniper” will be the main event of Brave 22, which takes place at The Mall of Asia Arena, in Manila, Philippines, on March 15th. His opponent will be announced in the coming weeks.

Loman is the longest-reigning Brave champion after winning his belt at Brave 9 back in November of 2017. Since then, the Filipino hero has made history by becoming the first-ever Brave CF titleholder to defend his crown on two occasions.

In June of last year, he went to Northern Ireland to face top contender Frans Mlambo and dominated his rival throughout five rounds to win a unanimous decision, beating Mlambo in front of his teammate Conor McGregor.

Five months later at Brave 18, he once again dominated his foe, out-striking Brazil’s Felipe Efrain in the co-main event to receive his third belt.

According to Muhammad, Al-Selwady is a “beast” in training and during fights and will become one of the top lightweights in the world of MMA in no time. Belal was also keen to pass on some advice to his younger friend, saying Al-Selwady shouldn’t rush things and let himself develop naturally.

“I just told him don’t try to rush anything because he’s a monster right now – he’s a beast. Brave is treating him really well and he’s a smart kid… He’s just doing it the smart way” said Muhammad in an interview with Top Turtle Podcast.

Belal talked about their encounter and also revealed that Al-Selwady plans to defend his Brave belt soon, after winning with a decisive TKO victory over the tough and experienced Lucas “Mineiro” back at Brave 18, in November of last year.

“We met each other through social media; MMA brought us together. He’s a good kid…We talked about how we train and what we like to train more. Brave is treating him really well right now so he said he wants to defend the title some more”.

– Brad Dalrymple

Follow me on Twitter @Brad_MMA

However, what still remains unclear is his opponent. Rather cryptically, there has been no mention if he will face current kingpin, Tyron Woodley or someone else in some sort of interim arrangement.

Unconfirmed reports initially surfaced earlier this month via Usman’s Twitter account where he posted a copy of a signed bout agreement and poked at Woodley about the matchup.

Now (initially reported by MMAJunkie), White has confirmed a title fight will be happening.

Time will tell over the coming weeks around the “radio silence” from Woodley and whether he will be signing up for the contest himself.

The AKA team member got somewhat of a spotlight at Golden Boy Promotions last month with a victory over UFC veteran Tom Lawlor. The 29 year old Winn was previously 4-0 with four first-round TKO’s.

We got to see his impressive cardio when he took Lawlor the distance, winning via unanimous decision. He is only 5′ 7” and was fighting at light heavyweight, but it looks like he wants to cut to middleweight for his UFC debut. He was also an assistant wrestling coach on The Ultimate Fighter 27 for Team Cormier.

His wrestling credentials are endless, and he was great from the start, going 163-6 throughout high school, winning the high school state title three times, a two time Junior College National Champion, and three-time All-American, just to name a few, with countless international tournament places.

It’ll be exciting to see how he does in the UFC.

I think we can all agree that with the current day’s game, a fighter that solely relies on striking within their competitive MMA career is somewhat doomed from the start. As the sport evolves, so do the styles and coaching methods, which in turn hugely effects the new bloodline of young fighters that are being injected into the competitive ranks. Long gone are the days that British gyms lacked quality in the grappling department. Now, we see young, amateur fighters coming into the fray with a more complete toolbox of skills to express once locked in the cage.

Nestled in amongst the Stoneycroft district of Liverpool is the Aspire Combat Sports Academy (ACSA). Headed up by veteran Cage Warriors, ACB and Bellator fighter, Dean Garnett and BJJ black belt, Phil Turner, ACSA have its fair share of experience when it comes to providing their fighters with a complete skill set, especially on the mat.

One particular member of their team is 17 years old, Liam McCracken. Fighting as a junior amateur since 2015, McCracken has already accumulated seven amateur fights picking up four impressive wins. Delving into that further, two of those have come by way of submission and the other two have been lopsided unanimous decisions where it has seen Liam showcase an aggressive yet patient grappling game to dominate his opponent to the buzzer.

In 2018, it is clear to see that McCracken is really hitting his stride and developing into a tremendously exciting talent. After losing his initial fight under the Celtic Gladiator banner in February, Liam got back on the proverbial horse in June against Estonian born Sandro Gogoladze on the UK Fighting Championships 7 card.

Gogoladze was most certainly the longer-limbed fighter in the contest posing a threat from distance. However, from the offset, whether it be a coach-influenced game plan or his own fight IQ, McCracken pushed forward to dominate the centre and attempt to pressure his opponent against the cage. After an initial unsuccessful scramble for a double-leg, a persistent Liam grasped his hands around the hips and sent Gogoladze to the canvass via a slamming double leg takedown. From side control, McCracken manages to pressure Gogoladze into exposing his neck and without further ado, grasped a slick guillotine choke to put an end to the fight with only 1:40 on the clock in the first round.

Now, this is a good point to mention what I find most impressive about McCracken. Referring back to my mention of his ground fundamentals by way of his coaches at ACSA, it seems that there is a noticeable switch in his character once the fight hits the canvass. Whilst the fight is standing, Liam shows his determination and ferocity in trying to get the fight to the ground, but when he obtains that authority and feels comfortable, his mentality seems to switch to be a more patient, technical and calculated mindset in order to advance his transitions and work towards control. This “comfort” in these positions is surely derived from his time under Dean Garnett and Phil Turner.

After his win over Gogoladze, McCracken kept the momentum going with a unanimous decision win over highly touted Sam Gittins and moved on to arguably the toughest test of his amateur career within the Cage Warriors Academy North West promotion on December 1st to see out the year.

Cage Warriors Academy is the regional level of the main Cage Warriors promotion. Ingeniously, it develops young, talented fighters through the ranks of amateur, and then feeds them into the main Cage Warriors promotion and on to greener pastures. Top notch UK and Northern Irish talents such as Cory McKenna and Cage Warriors’ new signing Liam Gittins have paid their dues in the development program.

For the vacant Cage Warriors Academy North West junior bantamweight belt, McCracken drew MMA Academy Liverpool protege, Curtis Campbell. Campbell, another leggy, distance-based striker would attempt to avoid the wrestling pressure game of McCracken to no avail.

The first round was one-sided, seeing Liam assertively slam Campbell to the canvass on four occasions and look for control of the back. Unable to lock in a choke, the penultimate round commenced, seeing McCracken’s dominant groundwork prevail again. Observing a 17-year-old amateur having the experience to lace his opponent’s legs and remove his base against the fence to keep full control speaks volumes, and it is this type of virtuosity that is not only a pleasure to watch for grappling fanatics but sets a young fighter apart from peers.

Another impressive and well-drilled part of McCracken’s skill-set is his ability to mix up the entries into takedowns. A lot of fighters that have a predominant grappling style tend to repeat their same preferred takedown entry to their detriment – this is not the case here. Whether it be a snatched single leg from outside or a level change with a trip from the clinch, McCracken has an assortment of options to exploit to keep his opponent guessing.

The third round saw a somewhat desperate Campbell, now heavily down on the scorecards over two rounds, look for a much-needed finish to see out the contest. A shift in momentum and pace saw McCracken go on the defensive, receiving an airborne slam of his own in the process. However, his aforementioned “comfort” with all things grappling allowed him to avoid any serious danger and see out the final round for the unanimous decision win.

As McCracken’s 2018 comes to an end on a certain high, he is morphing into a legitimate prospect that has the scouse fight fans feeling the excitement. It will be interesting to see how he defends his amateur title in such a high-level environment as the Cage Warriors Academy. Everyone on their roster has a hunger to impress. They are well versed and eager to make a name for themselves to calve their path into the Cage Warriors professional world and onwards with the likes of Paddy Pimblett and Darren Till.

One thing is for sure, McCraken’s early start in the business has been a tremendous learning curve for him and his confidence and enthusiasm, along with his fan base, has only grown. It is exciting to see how his career will blossom come 2019 under the tutorage of Garnett and Turner.

I will be catching up with Liam in the coming weeks for an interview so standby for the second part of this instalment.

– Brad Dalrymple

Follow me on Twitter @Brad_MMA

The fight will take place at lightweight and will headline the main card February 23rd 2019 at 3 Arena.

Queally (11-4-1) was signed to the Bellator roster in September after a campaign at Russian MMA promotion, Fight Nights Global starting in 2016. He competed four times under the FNG banner going 2-1-1. After winning his promotional debut unanimous decision against Igor Egorov, the SBG fighter dropped a majority decision to Islam Begidov before a controversial draw with Kuat Khamitov, the latter result being overturned from a majority decision loss.

His last appearance for FNG was undoubtedly his most impressive as “The Showstopper” scored a sensational first-round knockout against David Khachatryan in the headline act of FNG 87.

Price (10-7-0) is a former SBG teammate of Queally’s who signed for Bellator in July after picking up a loss in his fight against Norman Parke under the Brave Combat Federation banner.

Price called for a showdown with Queally on a recent episode of MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast where he was quoted saying:

“I was meant to fight Peter Queally, I think it was twice now, and he pulled out twice. He didn’t give my team any reason as to why he pulled out. I’d like to fight him because of that, to be honest,”

On a side note, both Queally and Pryce spent time on the opoosite side of the fence in the run-up to Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC 229 lightweight title fight. Queally helped with preparations inside the Irishman’s camp, and Myles Pryce was present at AKA on the Khabib side.

– Brad Dalrymple

Follow me on Twitter @Brad_MMA

In the main event, home country hero Jack Shore remained unbeaten and raised the bantamweight title for Wales. In a near flawless performance, Shore shut down Mike Ekundayo’s takedown attempts and dominated the fight both on the feet and on the mat, securing a devastating TKO in the third round. It was total control for Shore in his most impressive performance to date, on a night that’ll go down in Welsh fighting history.

It was a perfect time to announce Cage Warriors’ return to Cardiff for CW104, which will take place on April 27th back at the Viola arena with Wales’ newly crowned champion on the bill.

In the co-main, the coveted Cage Warriors featherweight title that launched the careers of fighters such as Conor McGregor found a new home. Dean Trueman lifted the belt after a hard-fought battle with Aiden Lee that had the crowd on it’s feet. Lee threatened early on with numerous submission attempts, but the relentless grit and determination we’ve come to expect from Trueman won through and he struck his way to a third-round TKO.

Welshman Aaron Khalid brought home another win for the home crowd with a submission over Håkon Foss, and Nicolas Dalby weathered an early grappling onslaught by Phil Mulpeter to finish the Irishman with strikes. After the fight, Dalby had one thing on his mind – the welterweight belt currently held by Ross Houston, who was in attendance at the Viola Arena alongside current and former CW champs Brett Johns, Nathaniel Wood, Jack Marshman and Paddy Pimblett.

Scotland’s Scott Malone opened up the Main Card with a seamless first-round submission over home favourite Josh Reed, climbing ever further toward the coveted bantamweight title now held by Jack Shore.

Every fight on the pro prelims also ended within the distance, with 4 out of the 5 in the very first round, making CW100’s undercard one of the most explosive in their 16-year history. Alex Lohoré picked up yet another knockout win over a high ranked opponent in Tim Barnett, and Rhys McKee made his CW debut in style with a stunning TKO over Jefferson George. Aiden Stephen and Brett Hassett both impressed with high-level submission finishes.

Perhaps the most impressive of the prelims was Jai Herbert’s huge win over Joe McColgan, dispatching the Irishman just two minutes into the first round with a furious barrage of strikes. As he stated in his post-fight interview, “the division’s on notice now.”

Before the mammoth pro card, the night began with the Cage Warriors Academy Grand Prix finals, when 7 amateur winners were crowned the top in their divisions. Highlights included first-round finishes for Ismar Blagoje, Oban Elliot and Nathan Fletcher.

The full CW100 results are below:

Main Card

• Jack Shore def. Mike Ekundayo via TKO (Round 3)
• Dean Trueman def. Aiden Lee via TKO (Round 3)
• Aaron Khalid def. Håkon Foss via submission (Round 2)
• Nicolas Dalby def. Phil Mulpeter via TKO (Round 3)
• Scott Malone def. Josh Reed via submission (Round 1)

Pro Prelims

• Alex Lohoré def. Tim Barnett via TKO (Round 1)
• Rhys McKee def. Jefferson George via TKO (Round 1)
• Aiden Stephen def. Kris Edwards via submission (Round 2)
• Jai Herbert def. Joe McColgan via TKO (Round 1)
• Brett Hassett def. Michael Corston via submission (Round 1)

CWA Grand Prix finals

• Ismar Blagoje def. Dawid Piotrowicz via submission (Round 1)
• Christian Duncan def. Rafal Nauberg via a submission (Round 2)
• Oban Elliot def. Danny Dixon by submission (Round 1)
• Danny Williams def. Jordan Peake via unanimous decision
• Chris Sterling def. Liam Molly via unanimous decision
• Nathan Fletcher def. Jack Eglin via submission (Round 1)
• Muhidin Abubakar def. Ciaran Muholland via unanimous decision

Amateur Card

• Jack Tucker def. Kieren Bennett via TKO (Round 2)
• Sean Scrivens def. Joe Macefield via unanimous decision

Next up for Cage Warriors is their much-anticipated return to Liverpool for CW101 on February 16th.

In the main event, hot-prospect Mark Hulme got the biggest victory of his professional career as he won a unanimous decision over seasoned veteran in Adam Townsend. Both men were making their promotional debuts, and their fight was one of the most back-and-forth of the action-packed event, leaving fans on their feet.

In the co-main event, Straight Blast Gym standout, Frans Mlambo faced Dansheel Moodley in a bout that marked the dominant return of the gold medalist from 2015 IMMAF World Championship. Mlambo submitted Moodley in the first round to make a memorable return to his nation of origin. In defence of the ever-game Moodley, he stepped in as a last minute replacement for Arnold Quero who had to withdraw from the event due to illness during his weight cut.

Meanwhile, David Bear faced Pawel Kiełek in an explosive bout which showcased intense striking skills by the fighter from France. Bear softened his opponent with vicious strikes which significantly slowed Kiełek down. The OBYFight representative put pressure on Kiełek, who eventually opened his guard letting Bear comfortably land combinations. Finally, a powerful right stopped Kiełek while Bear mauled his opponent forcing the referee to stop the bout.

Carl “Bomber” Booth returned to Brave Combat Federation after a 13-month absence to compete at Brave 19 against dangerous Dino Bagattin. The striker from England didn’t hold back as he set the pace for the bout aggressively, overwhelmed Bagattin with precise striking and good takedown defense, earning his first victory in nearly two years and putting himself back on the chase for Brave gold.

Gold Medalist at the 2017 IMMAF World Championships, Abdul Hussein made a home for himself in the flyweight division as he went the distance against Sylvester Chipfumbu, earning yet another professional win and positioning himself near the top of the division.

The undercard witnessed explosive action featuring upcoming talents from the continent. Gareth Buirski defeated Cedric Doyle by Guillotine Choke in the first round, while Nkosi Ndebele stopped the returning Ahmed Faress after a doctor deemed the egyptian unable to continue.

The full Brave 19 results are below:

Main card

• Mark Hulme def. Adam Townsend by unanimous decision
• Frans Mlambo def. Dansheel Moodley by submission (Guillotine Choke) – Round 1
• David Bear def. Paweł Kiełek by TKO (Strikes) – Round 1
• Carl Booth def. Dino Bagattin by Knock Out – Round 2
• Abdul Hussein def. Sylvester Chipfumbu by Unanimous Decision

Undercard

• Gareth Buirski def. Cedric Doyle via submission (Guillotine Choke) – Round 1
• Carlos Graça def. Dimitri Fogg by TKO – Round 1
• Nkosi Ndebele def. Ahmed Faress by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) – Round 1
• Alex Martinez def. Hanru Botha via submission (Guillotine Choke) – Round 3
• François Meyer def. Jan Paul Ronge via submission (Guillotine Choke) – Round 1

Next up for Brave Combat Federation is a return to India, where Hyderabad will witness a middleweight bout between Sidney Wheeler and Leon Aliu as the main event of Brave 20, set for December 22nd.

The fight is another impressive addition to “UFC on ESPN+ 1” –  the initial fight card under the UFC/ESPN deal. Other high profile fights confirmed for the card are:

• Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw (flyweight title)
• Rachael Ostovich vs. Paige VanZant
• Geoff Neal vs. Belal Muhammad
• Ion Cutelaba vs. Glover Teixeira
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Vinicius Moreira
• Randy Brown vs. Chance Rencountre
• Joanne Calderwood vs. Ariane Lipski
• Allen Crowder vs. Greg Hardy

UFC on ESPN+ 1 takes place Jan. 19 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and streams on ESPN+. Prelims, however, are set to broadcast nationally on ESPN, with Cerrone (34-11 MMA, 21-8 UFC) vs. Hernandez (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) serving as the featured bout.

Cerrone, 35, who is 2-4 in last six bouts, will be coming off a first-round submission win over Mike Perry in November. Prior to the win, Cerrone said that he intended on returning to lightweight to make a run at the title, which he challenged then-champ Rafael dos Anjos for in December 2015 and was subsequently beaten, prompting a switch to welterweight.

After his win over Perry, Cerrone teased that the UFC already had an opponent in mind for him but wouldn’t say who. In a later Instagram post, Cerrone said he was “just waiting on” McGregor, hinting at a possible fight with the former two-division champion. UFC President Dana White would later shoot down that idea.

Now that the McGregor fight rumours are dead and buried, it is now clear that Cerrone’s quest for the lightweight title will begin with Hernandez, who enters on a tasty eight-fight winning streak with scalps such as a knockout of highly touted Beneil Dariush and a unanimous decision over technician Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

– Brad Dalrymple

Follow me on Twitter @Brad_MMA

In the main event, featherweight champion Max Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will defend his featherweight title, as well as his 12 fight winning streak against unbeaten challenger Brian Ortega (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). Holloway, who faced questions about whether he would make weight heading into the event, was 144.5 pounds. Ortega was a quarter-pound more at 144.75.

In the co-feature, Valentina Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) takes on former women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) for the vacant women’s flyweight title. Shevchenko was well under at 1235.5 pounds, as was Jedrzejczyk at 123.75.

MMAMotion will be live on Twitter with all of the play-by-plays and the results will be updated below as they happen. Give us a follow and join the conversation.

MAIN CARD

• Max Holloway def. Brian Ortega via Doctor’s Stoppage (Round 4)
• Valentina Shevchenko def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk via Unanimous Decision (49-46 x3)
• Gunnar Nelson def. Alex Oliveira via 2nd Round Submission (RNC)
• Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak via Split Decision (29-28 x2)
• Thiago Santos def. Jimi Manuwa via 2nd Round KO

UNDERCARD

• Nina Ansaroff def. Claudia Gadelha via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
• Jessica Eye def. Katlyn Chookagian via Split Decision (29-28 x2)
• Elias Theodorou def. Eryk Anders via (Split Decision 29-28 x2)
•  Gilbert Burns def. Olivier Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
• Aleksandar Rakic def. Devin Clark via Round 1 TKO
• Brad Katona def. Matthew Lopez via Third Round Submission (RNC)
• Dhiego Lima def. Chad Laprise via Round 1 KO
• Diego Ferreira def. Kyle Nelson via Round 2 TKO