BRAVE CF 70: Indian MMA star Mohammed Farhad gets new opponent

23 April 2023

Ruel Panales of the Philippines has withdrawn from his highly awaited fight against Mohammed Farhad of India at BRAVE CF 70 in Ljubljana, Slovenia this weekend, ending the "rematch of the year" for BRAVE Combat Federation. Farhad will now compete against Vitalii Yakymenko of Ukraine, who will be making his BRAVE CF debut in a freshly created Bantamweight match.

Following their "No Contest" outcome at BRAVE CF 66, where the former accidentally kicked the Filipino in the groyne, Farhad and Panales have been at odds.

These passionate exchanges have been fueling the anticipation for the epic bantamweight rematch over the past few months. This week, Panales said that he will be unable due to unanticipated events. As a result, BRAVE Nation fans will now have to wait a little longer to experience one of the greatest rematches in BRAVE Combat Federation history.

Yakymenko will get the chance to make a statement when he squares up against India's MMA veteran, Farhad, who is competing to become the country's first BRAVE CF champion now that Panales is out of action. The 26-year-old Yakymenko is now on a two-fight winning streak after two victories over Albert Meliksetyan of Armenia. The 165-cm tall Ukrainian has three first-round stoppage victories, including two submissions, proving that he enjoys fast-paced action.

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The UFD athlete will now face the seasoned Farhad, 34, who has eleven knockouts, including one that changed the course of BRAVE CF history when he stopped Badr-Eddine Ahzine with punches at BRAVE CF 1: The Beginning. The top-ranked Indian Bantamweight, who has four BRAVE CF knockouts under his belt, wants to win the BRAVE CF gold this year and further establish himself as India's best MMA fighter.

After the success of BRAVE CF 34 in January 2020, BRAVE CF returns to Slovenia for the second time in three years. With a magnificent event in Ljubljana, BRAVE CF 70 will once more be co-promoted with the top regional organisation, WFC.

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Both brands hope to elevate the Central European mixed martial arts scene. Erko Jun of Bosnia and Herzegovina will compete in the main event at light heavyweight against Marko Drmonjic of Slovenia, one of Europe's biggest talents, while Joilton Lutterbach of Germany and Andreas Gustafsson Berg of Sweden will square off in the co-main event at super welterweight.