BRAVE CF 69: Aleksandar Ilic to fight Cleber Sousa in Co-main event

13 January 2023

Aleksandar "Joker" Ili of Serbia will square off against Cleber "Clebinho" Sousa of Brazil in Belgrade, Serbia, on February 18 in the co-main event of BRAVE CF 69, which is presented by MMA Liga.

In the first competition on the BRAVE CF 2023 calendar, both participants will compete for the first time. The Serbian populace loves "Joker," therefore he will have support when he enters the Belgrade throng.

Ili (14-5) defeated Russian veteran Alexander Shlemenko (62-15-1) in the opening round with a knee and ground-and-pound tactics, earning a significant victory in his final mixed martial arts contest. With eleven victories (71 percent) coming by way of KO/TKO, "Joker" is a great entertainer, which is why his fans adore him.

He is a skilled fighter with prior experience in some of Europe's top promotions, and he will soon make his international debut with the world's fastest-growing organisation.

When "Clebinho" enters the Belgrade cauldron, he faces a BRAVE CF baptism of fire, but his background and respectable 23-13-1 record will serve him well. Sousa has four wins and no losses. Prior to that, he defeated fellow countryman Cássio de Oliveira with punches in the second round to win the Brazilian Middleweight title. With 16 victories by KO/TKO, Sousa enjoys a good fight, but the Brazilian is also an excellent grappler with three victories via submission.

Following the spectacular success of BRAVE CF 56, which took place in 2021, BRAVE CF makes its way back to Belgrade. Three fights have been announced for BRAVE CF 69 so far, including Ili vs. Sousa. Abdisalam Kubanychbek, the interim world champion at light heavyweight, will compete in the main event to unify the title against top rival Kamil Magomedov, and Abdullah Al-Qahtani will make his comeback against Denis Jurakic at featherweight.