Brave Combat Federation will hold an openweight tournament, and two UFC veterans have thrown their names in the hat.
Fabio Maldonado and Josh Copeland both have applied to take part in the tournament set for Nov. 15 at Brave CF 29 in Bahrain, sources told MMA Junkie on Tuesday.
Maldonado (24-12 MMA, 5-6 UFC) competed 11 times under the UFC banner and has fought the likes of heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former light heavyweight champion “Rampage” Jackson. After departing the UFC, the 39-year-old competed for Fight Nights Global, winning the promotion’s light heavyweight championship. However, he lost his title in his next fight, a second round knockout to current UFC fighter Nikita Krylov in 2018.
Copeland’s UFC stint didn’t last too long after he suffered back-to-back losses to Ruslan Magomedov and Jared Rosholt in 2014-2015. Since then, he competed in numerous organizations, eventually landing in PFL. He fell short of the million-dollar prize, losing a fourth-round knockout to Phillipe Lens in last year’s tournament.
All fighters can apply, regardless if they are currently under contract with another promotion. The lone stipulation is that they must have at least one professional win. After all applications are submitted, a special committee will select 10 fighters, which will be followed by a draw, where four fighters will be selected to compete.
The tournament takes place in one night, where four men will fight for the opportunity to win $100,000 and a KHK wold champion belt made of 6.2 kg of pure gold. It will be a part of the Brave International Combat Week, which also includes the IMMAF World Championships.
