BRAVE CF 70: Biggest talking points from the event in Slovenia

BRAVE CF 70 will be remembered as a jam-packed night of action, intrigue, and drama as Ljubljana, Slovenia, hosted a momentous night in the BRAVE Combat Federation's seven-year history.

In its 20th event in Europe, BRAVE CF returned to the Central European nation for the second time in three years, further strengthening the brand's reach and highlighting its status as the most-global MMA promotion.

Fans gathered in droves, VIPs dressed to the nines, and fighters came to amuse as they battled tooth and nail for glory and honours in one of the fastest-growing companies.

Erko Jun makes a statement in the main event

The scale of BRAVE CF 70 - co-promoted with WFC, which returned with WFC 25 - brought out the best in the eight-fight card's gladiators, with a few spectacular stand-outs. The main event of the BRAVE CF 70 / WFC 25 achieved its role as the main draw card as Bosnia and Herzegovina's Erko Jun eliminated Slovenia's MMA veteran Marko Drmonjic in round one with a technical knockout.

The victory marked a watershed point in European combat sports history, with Jun presenting himself to world MMA in his BRAVE CF debut and Drmonjic bringing an end to an amazing 22-fight career spanning an incredible sixteen years.

Pavel Dailidko gets the knockout win

New challengers emerged as a result of the BRAVE CF 70 / WFC 25. Following his debut loss to the dangerous Shamil Gaziev at BRAVE CF 65, heavyweight Pavel Dailidko pitched up a different man.

Following that defeat, "The Experiment" worked hard to improve his game and looked unstoppable at BRAVE CF 70 / WFC 25, decimating the Ljubljana crowd with a devastating flurry of power punches, knocking out hometown favourite Luka Podkrajsek in round one.

The manner in which Dailidko destroyed the previously undefeated Podkrajsek caught the attention of the BRAVE CF Heavyweight division, and his performance vaulted the Lithuanian into contender discussions.

Lutterbach continues his good run

In the co-main event, BRAVE CF's number-one ranked Super Lightweight Joilton Lutterbach pushed deep to defeat BRAVE CF's "Fight of the Year" winner and Sweden's Andreas Gustafsson Berg in a gruelling three-round fight.

The triumphant Lutterbach faced a much-heavier opponent in natural Middleweight Gustafsson Berg, as both competitors took the battle on short notice. Gustafsson Berg forced the lethal striker into a wrestling test, which Lutterbach passed with flying colours, and he won the fight by majority decision.

While Lutterbach's immediate goal is to win the BRAVE CF Super Lightweight title, his performance in a heavier division would have piqued the interest of the top-five 175-pounders given how well the German performed outside of his comfort zone.

Other major stories from the event

A Cinderella story is unfolding in the BRAVE CF Flyweight class, as Edilceu Alves, 40, moved one step closer to becoming one of the oldest BRAVE CF champions ever. Alves entered the BRAVE CF cage with South Africa's Dansheel Moodley, who is anticipated to become his country's first-ever BRAVE CF title-holder after an amazing run of three promotional wins leading up to BRAVE CF 70.

Moodley's flames and immediate dreams of battling for gold were swiftly extinguished as Alves dominated his Flyweight opponent over three rounds with flawless hitting and wrestling defence, earning him a unanimous decision win.

This was Alves' sixth straight win and second in BRAVE CF, putting his name in the BRAVE CF Flyweight top-contenders hat right away.

The night's second-most exciting moment was a last-minute Bantamweight matchup between India's Mohammad Farhad and Ukraine's Vitaliy Yakymenko.

Farhad of BRAVE CF was supposed to meet Ruel Panales of the Philippines in a highly anticipated rematch following their "No Contest" outcome at BRAVE CF 66. Panales, on the other hand, backed out of his BRAVE CF 70 commitment, allowing another athlete to make his BRAVE CF debut.

After four professional victories, Yakymenko made his global MMA debut against the veteran Farhad, who has 17 fights to his credit. But Yakymenko refused to be star-struck or let the bright BRAVE CF lights deter him from seizing his opportunity.

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The first Bantamweight fight saw the debut of a future BRAVE CF superstar, as the Ukrainian sparkled on the international stage. Over the course of three rounds, Yakymenko captured the attention of millions of fans, completely shutting down Farhad, who was clueless in response. The 26-year-old Ukrainian fighter shown remarkable maturity and patience in all aspects of mixed martial arts, subduing Farhad with high-level wrestling, transitions, and grappling, leading to a unanimous decision victory in what could be the biggest upset in BRAVE CF history.

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