Naurdiev fires shots at champ Al-Silawi ahead of BRAVE CF 50

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

One of the brightest young stars in the Super-Welterweight division, Ismail Naurdiev (20-4) is making his promotional debut on the biggest stage for BRAVE Combat Federation as he headlines BRAVE CF 50, the historic and celebratory event that will showcase the best action in MMA today. ‘’The Austrian Wonderboy’’ will challenge the best-ever Arab MMA fighter, Jarrah Al-Silawi (15-3), for his Super Welterweight (175 lbs) world championship in the main event, this Thursday, April 1st.

And he’s ready to make history and dethrone the number one fighter in the Arab world, beginning a war of words with his latest statements. During a pre-fight interview, the Chechen-born Austrian fighter spoke at length about Al-Silawi as a fighter, and claimed he wasn’t impressed at all with ‘’The Jordanian Lion’’ abilities. ‘‘Honestly, I didn’t watch his fights, just a couple of moments. But I think he’s more of a striker.

I saw his wrestling is really bad, and he has some skills in jiu-jitsu, but not that high of a level. He’s more of a striker, he likes to kick a lot. He has basic striking, but nothing I haven’t seen before, so I’m not surprised’’, says Naurdiev. Al-Silawi has a host of BRAVE Combat Federation records, including most cage time and most wins (eight, a record he now shares with Ikram Aliskerov). Jarrah is also the only twotime world champion in BRAVE CF history, having won the title at BRAVE CF 16, lost it at BRAVE CF 23, and then initiating his second title reign at BRAVE CF 27.

Both men will clash in the biggest stage in the company’s history as BRAVE Combat Federation celebrates its 50th event in style, with two title fights plus two legs of the biggest Flyweight tournament in the sport’s history. Overall athletes from more than 20 countries will be in action, including household names such as Mohammad Fakhreddine, Ali Bagautinov, Dustin Ortiz, and Zach Makovsky. The show will be available globally live and free on Thursday at 5.30 PM (GMT+3) at www. bravecftv.com.