France's Salim El Ouassaidi overcame a difficult start to stop hometown favorite Kaloyan Kolev in the third round of the main event at BRAVE CF 107 on Aug. 1 at Burgas Arena.
Kolev controlled much of the opening round of their 97.2-kilogram catchweight contest, mixing sharp boxing combinations with timely takedowns to build an early lead in front of the home crowd.
El Ouassaidi shifted the momentum in the second round by finding success in close-range exchanges and landing the cleaner strikes. He carried that momentum into the final round, securing a takedown before unleashing a barrage of ground-and-pound that forced the referee to stop the contest at 3:40 of the third round.
In the co-main event, Georgia's Bidzina Gavashelishvili strengthened his case for a BRAVE CF flyweight title opportunity with a unanimous decision victory over South Africa's Luthando Biko. After two competitive rounds featuring striking and wrestling exchanges, Gavashelishvili controlled the final frame with takedowns and cage control to earn the judges' nod.
Bulgaria's Pavel Vladev produced one of the night's quickest finishes, knocking out Greece's Muhammed Kir Ahmet just 52 seconds into the opening round of their lightweight bout. Vladev dropped Ahmet with a straight right before finishing the fight with follow-up punches.
Former IMMAF world champion Deyan Galinov also thrilled the hometown fans, knocking out Brazil's Alexander Mikael in the second round of their super welterweight bout with a left hook after establishing his boxing throughout the contest.
India's Owais Yaqoob continued his unbeaten rise with a first-round TKO over Bulgaria's Delyan Georgiev in a 68-kilogram catchweight bout. Yaqoob dropped Georgiev with a left hook before finishing the fight with ground-and-pound at the 4-minute mark of the opening round.
Anton Yanchev capped the preliminary card with a third-round stoppage of Georgia's Bachuki Tchikaidze. After showcasing his striking for much of the bout, the Bulgarian secured a takedown before finishing with ground strikes.
Bozhidar Ivanov added another victory for the host nation, stopping Latvia's Ričards Ozols with punches at 4:59 of the second round after hurting him with a body shot.
Opening the event, Bahrain's Mohamed Alsameea earned a unanimous decision over Switzerland's Miran Ramani after controlling the fight with grappling across all three rounds.
BRAVE CF 107 Results
- 97.2-kg Catchweight: Salim El Ouassaidi def. Kaloyan Kolev via TKO (ground-and-pound), Round 3, 3:40
- Flyweight: Bidzina Gavashelishvili def. Luthando Biko via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
- Lightweight: Pavel Vladev def. Muhammed Kir Ahmet via KO (punches), Round 1, 0:52
- Super Welterweight: Deyan Galinov def. Alexander Mikael via KO (left hook), Round 2, 1:40
- 68-kg Catchweight: Owais Yaqoob def. Delyan Georgiev via TKO (ground-and-pound), Round 1, 4:00
- Lightweight: Anton Yanchev def. Bachuki Tchikaidze via TKO (ground-and-pound), Round 3, 1:50
- 81-kg Catchweight: Bozhidar Ivanov def. Ričards Ozols via TKO (punches), Round 2, 4:59
- 59-kg Catchweight: Mohamed Alsameea def. Miran Ramani via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
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