On this Mother’s Day weekend inside the United States, MMA fans all over, as well as everyone else, are struggling to figure out what to get Mom for the holiday. If your mom is a fan of competitive violence, here’s a helpful hint: Forget the roses and the expensive brunch at a banquet hall.
This year, you can go over to her house, sit down on the ottoman, fire up the streaming media apps on your phone, tablet, laptop or TV and watch the fights. You’ll have plenty of them to watch between Saturday and Sunday.
Your itinerary of battles begins late Saturday morning (US time) in Africa. St. Pierre in the East African nation of Mauritius is the host city for Brave CF‘s latest card, Brave CF 82 from Cote D’or National Sports Complex. Live coverage kicks off Saturday at 11:30 am ET/ 8:30 am PT (5:30 pm London time) on DAZN inside America and the United Kingdom.
First-Ever Trilogy Fight For Bantamweight Gold in Brave CF 82 Main Event
All told, absent of any postponements or cancellations between now and the weekend, the final version of Brave CF 82 features six fights. Highlighting the night is a fight for the history books in the Brave CF 82 main event.
For the first time in the eight-year history of Brave CF, a trilogy fight will take place in the headlining bout this Saturday. If that weren’t enough of a storyline heading into the weekend, there’s a belt on the line at the top of the bill.
Incumbent Brave CF Bantamweight Champion Nkosi Ndebele (7-2 MMA, 7-2 Brave CF) takes on challenger and UFC/ Titan FC veteran Jose Torres (12-2-1 MMA, 4-1-1 Brave CF.) As with most MMA championship fights, this one is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
#RivalryRewind – Ndebele vs Torres 3 🏆
Get up to speed with the story so far as we edge closer to the biggest fight in #BRAVECF history🔥
Who will walk out the victor in the Final Chapter?👀
[#BRAVECF #MMA #Africa #Mauritius] pic.twitter.com/6CAk16xnIg
— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) April 29, 2024
The Series So Far
Heading into the third all-time meeting between these two fighters, the series stands level at 1-1. Back in August of last year, Torres won the first encounter (split decision.)
A rematch was booked for Dec. 12, 2023. That night, Ndebele evened the score with a third-round TKO (retirement.) On Saturday, after some postponements earlier in 2023, these two men go to battle for the third time in nine months on the third continent in as many fights. How will the trilogy match play out?
Brave CF 82 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the Brave CF 82 main event on Saturday, Nkosi Ndebele stands as the taller gladiator at 5-foot-10, compared to the 5-foot-4 frame of Jose Torres. The latter owns a 66-inch reach, with no such information accessible for the former at press time.
Ndebele Gets Chance to End Trilogy at Home in Brave CF 82 Main Event
Champion Nkosi Ndebele has posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. Before the trilogy with Torres began, he scored a first-round knockout of ONE Championship veteran Fajar (5-2 MMA, 1-1 Brave CF) in Brave CF 66 back in November of 2022.
Recently, the champ was a guest of The Fight Week Show. During his appearance, he discussed his role in this historic night.
“First of all, I give all the glory to God, because He is the reason [that I’m] where I am today”, Ndebele began. “Man, I’m a history-maker. I make history, brother. For Brave, what I’ve done with Brave and what they’ve done with me, I’m their very first homemade champion. That was the first history that we made, and now we are doing a trilogy, the first trilogy to happen in three different continents. That’s history on its own.”
He’ll have the support of his countrymen in the crowd on Saturday in the Brave CF 82 main event, so can he end the trilogy with a win? Tune in and find out.
“Shorty” Torres Hasn’t Looked Back
In the other corner, Jose Torres, better known as “Shorty”, has gone 3-1-1 in his last five fights. Ahead of the rivalry against Nkosi Ndebele, he bested Izzeddine Al Derbani (14-4 MMA, 1-2 Brave CF) by unanimous decision in October of 2022.
Torres, the former flyweight champion in the late Titan FC from 2017 to 2018, received a call from the UFC after going 7-0 in the Florida-based promotion. Upon going 1-1 in the summer of 2018, he left Dana White‘s promotion amid eventually-scrapped plans to remove the flyweight class.
He also revealed that he was receiving miniscule pay during his run with the promotion. Six years and a move to 135 lbs. later, the sky is the limit for him. He’s already won the title once against Ndebele. Will he score a championship victory for the United States in the Brave CF 82 main event?
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
You can expect another classic strength vs. strength matchup in the Brave CF 82 main event. Which one of these men will emerge victorious?
Ndebele Can Punch His Way to a Successful Title Defense
Nkosi Ndebele has been known to has fists of fury. A standout example of his striking can be found during his 2020 fight versus Zia Mashwani. After Ndebele gave Mashwani a cut on the eye, the fight was paused for the doctor to examine whether or not the latter was fit to stay in the fight.
Upon passing this examination, Ndebele continued punishing Mashwani with shots, knocking him down twice before the latter stumbled against the cage fence. The referee wisely called a halt to the fight after that with under 30 seconds left on the clock.
Look for Ndebele to try and wobble Torres on Saturday in the Brave CF 82 main event. If Ndebele can stun Torres, he’ll retain the belt.
Torres Will Try to Slow Ndebele Down and Defend on the Ground
In the other corner, while the flashy, highlight-reel stoppages are great to see, sometimes the slow, metered approach works just the same, like it did for Jose Torres against Amir Albazi in his promotional debut in 2019. While Torres knocked Albazi down twice in the early going, he chose not to pursue ground and pound shots and instead opted for the stand-up game.
In so doing, he gassed Amir Albazi with counterpunches and continued to stalk him as round one progressed, assuming top position on the ground and scoring with a burst of elbows before the official ordered the fighters back to their feet.
While Albazi threatened Torres with a rear-naked choke in round two, the latter’s defense was too tough. He exhausted Albazi further by remaining in a bodylock for a portion of round three before again having to fight off a submission.
If Torres zaps Ndebele’s energy over the course of the Brave CF 82 main event, the title will be his once again.
Final Thoughts
Consider the Brave CF 82 main event a great opening act before UFC St. Louis later Saturday. Don’t miss it.
Prediction: Jose Torres by Unanimous Decision.
