It’ll be Memorial Day weekend inside the United States this last weekend of May. Every year at this time, MMA‘s top promotion, the UFC, takes time away from the famed Octagon, this year ahead of UFC 302 on June 1. Just because Dana White‘s promotion has a bye this week, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the cupboard is bare when it comes to competitive violence.
In actuality, the plate is still pretty full even without the UFC in action on the extended holiday weekend stateside. It’s a big Saturday of fights and it’ll kick off in Alkmaar, The Netherlands for Brave CF‘s second event this month and third in the last five weeks.
Brave CF 83 marks the first card ever to be held in The Netherlands from the promotion, in association with ECE MMA from Enfusion. Saturday’s card breaks a record with The Netherlands becoming the 14th host nation in Europe to hold a Brave CF card.
Super-Welterweights Clash Saturday
Inside the United States, Brave CF 83 will be seen on DAZN at 2:30 pm ET/ 11:30 am PT. All told, absent of any postponed fights between now and the weekend, the final version of the show features six bouts on the docket. At the top of the bill is a nontitle fixture at super-welterweight (175 lbs.) in the Brave CF 83 main event.
Former Brave CF Super-Welterweight Champion Marcin Bandel (22-8-1 MMA, 3-1 Brave CF) returns to the cage to face off against 33-fight veteran Alex Lohore (23-10 MMA, Brave CF promotional debut,) a veteran of fellow DAZN stablemate Oktagon MMA, in the Brave CF 83 main event.
With no title at stake in the Brave CF 83 main event, this headliner is a maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
5 days to go!🤩 A Super Welterweight clash with huge stakes headlines a record-breaking event in Alkmaar🔥 Bandel vs Lohoré goes down this Saturday!
[#BRAVECF #MMA #BRAVECF82 #Netherlands] pic.twitter.com/dTqGYOSwmn
— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) May 20, 2024
Brave CF 83 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the Brave CF 83 main event on Saturday afternoon, debutante Alex Lohore stands as the taller man at 6-foot-1, compared to the 5-foot-11 frame of Marcin Bandel. Bandel owns a 70-inch reach, with no such information available for Alex Lohore at press time.
Currently, the oddsmakers have Marcin Bandel installed as a -350 betting favorite on the money line, with Alex Lohore countering as a +240 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Bandel Looking to Get Back in Win Column on Saturday
Marcin Bandel goes into the Brave CF 83 main event this weekend having gone 4-1 in his last five fights. Most recently, he saw a four-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of undefeated Kamal Magomedov (11-0 MMA, 3-0 Brave CF) at Brave CF 77 in Isa Town, Bahrain (first-round knockout: knees and punches).
Despite the defeat back in December, Bandel has the support of his home country, Poland. A former UFC lightweight who went 0-2 between October of 2014 and April of 2015, he’s climbed the mountain over the course of the last nine years and won a championship.
Will Marcin Bandel get his hand raised by the referee on Saturday night? Rest assured, his fellow countrymen will be watching the Brave CF 83 main event and rooting him on.
Alex Lohore Looks to Stop Skid This Weekend
In the other corner, Alex Lohore, who is also an alumnus of Bellator MMA and Cage Warriors, has posted a record of 2-3 in his last five MMA fights. He’s been a bit of a streaky fighter of late in the cage.
Currently, he’s on a two-fight losing streak, one which was extended last time out with a first-round knockout (right hook) by Ion Surdu (14-6 MMA, 2-2 Oktagon) in Oktagon 48 last November. In order to find Lohore’s last sustained winning streak, you’d have to travel back in time almost six years to between September and December of 2018, where he won three consecutive fights in a span of 90 days, including two Cage Warriors fights in a month and a half’s time.
This is a man who once rattled off 10 consecutive wins early on in his career as a fighter. A win in the Brave CF 83 main event on Saturday is a step in the right direction, so will he stop the skid on Saturday? Only time will tell.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the Brave CF 83 main event looks to favor Marcin Bandel, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, compared to Alex Lohore’s background as a boxer.
Bandel Can Get the Job Done in a Hurry
Statistically speaking, Marcin Bandel has 19 career wins by way of submission, so once a fight goes to the cage mat, it could be a matter of moments before the final bell rings. While there are many prime examples of this on video, Bandel’s win against Ismail Naurdiev is pretty slick.
During the first round of a scheduled three, Marcin Bandel knocked Ismail Naurdiev down with a crisp punch to the head. He then quickly scrambled to take back mount, grappling with Naurdiev, applying the torque to secure an armbar submission in just under 80 seconds to add a win to his record.
All it will take Marcin Bandel to get back in the win column during the Brave CF 83 main event is to get Alex Lohore down by any means necessary.
Alex Lohore Has One-Punch Power
In the other corner, just as Marcin Bandel is adept in grappling, Alex Lohore can end the Brave CF 83 main event with one single blow. Just look at the tape of his win against Matus Juracek in Oktagon from the end of 2022.
Right after the command to fight was given in the third and final round of the bout, Lohore absorbed a strike from Juracek, causing the former to move in and land a perfectly-placed left hook to drop Juracek on contact. Lohore landed some ground and pound shots to ensure that enough damage was done and the referee waved off the contest in 16 blistering seconds.
The best way for Alex Lohore to pacify Marcin Bandel’s ground game on Saturday is to get Bandel on the ground, plain and simple.
Final Thoughts
Two seasoned veterans of the sport will enter the cage on Saturday. Which one of these men will emerge as the victor?
Prediction: Marcin Bandel by First-Round Submission.
