It’s a huge Saturday in sports this last full weekend of August. While most of the United States will be fixated on Week Zero in college football, a light schedule of games highlighted by Georgia Tech vs. Florida State in the ACC opener from Dublin, Ireland, our focus will remain on MMA and a day-night doubleheader of action.
Your schedule of competitive violence begins in the afternoon when Brave CF wraps up its three consecutive weekends of events with Brave CF 86 from Burgas, Bulgaria for the first time ever, becoming the 34th country in the world to hold a card from the promotion. Live coverage begins at 1 pm ET/ 10 am PT on DAZN inside America.
All told, barring any late postponements or cancellations on the bout order this Saturday, the final version of Brave CF 86 features seven bouts.
Light Heavyweights Take to The Cage in Brave CF 86 Main Event
Highlighting the afternoon’s itinerary is a light heavyweight showdown in the Brave CF 86 main event. Atanas Djambazov (25-5 MMA, Brave promotional debut) returns to the sport for the first time in six years when he takes on Mohamed Said Maalem (12-6, 1 NC MMA, 2-3, 1 NC Brave.)
With no championship at stake in this fight, the Brave CF 86 main event will be an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
🚨 #BRAVECF86 Bulgaria Full Fight Card 🇧🇬#Bulgaria will become the 34th nation to host a #BRAVECF event with a fight card for the ages🔥
Djambazov vs. Maalem headlines the historic card, while Stoimenov takes on Lohoré in the co-main!👀
[#BRAVECF #MMA] pic.twitter.com/KOZyOS1rCD
— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) August 1, 2024
Brave CF 86 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the Brave CF 86 main event on Saturday afternoon, both of these men stand level at six feet even. Atanas Djambazov owns a 74-inch reach, with no such information available for Mohamed Said Maalem.
Currently, the oddsmakers have yet to release money lines for Brave CF 86. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight in MMA or combat sports this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Djambazov Readies for First Fight in Six Years
Atanas Djambazov enters the Brave CF 86 main event on Saturday afternoon having posted a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. Last time out, he scored a first-round submission by way of keylock against Paris Vaklas (0-1 MMA) in the latter’s only career MMA fight on Aug. 2, 2018 during Max Fight 41.
Djambazov hasn’t even been so much as scheduled to fight at any point in the ensuing six years prior to the booking against Mohamed Said Maalem in Brave CF 86 this coming weekend.
The good news for the Djambazov camp heading into his return to the cage on Saturday is that it’s going to be a “home game” for him, since he’s based out of Bulgaria and was born in Pomorie. This is a man who tried his luck in Bellator MMA a decade ago and it didn’t work out, posting an 0-2 mark in the promotion. Can he make the return a successful one? Tune in and find out.
Mohamed Said Maalem Looks to Return to Win Column
In the other corner, Mohamed Said Maalem has gone 1-3 with one no-contest in his last five bouts. Most recently, he dropped a first-round knockout (punches) against Erko Jun (8-2 MMA, 2-0 Brave) during Brave CF 81 on April 20 on DAZN.
This was the latter’s third fight in his ongoing winning streak. He’ll return at the end of next month during Brave CF 88 versus Alexander Wesner (10-5 MMA, Brave promotional debut.)
Maalem has had a rough go of things inside the cage lately. He hasn’t had a sustained winning streak since he accumulated six victories in succession between March of 2018 and November of 2020, a streak snapped thanks to a no-contest versus Mohammad Fakhreddine (16-5, 1 NC MMA) in August of 2021.
Initially, that fight was ruled a Maalem win before being retroactively reversed to a no-contest amid Fakhreddine absorbing illegal shots to the back of the head in the first round. Maalem then won cleanly in the rematch the following March. Can he get back to the win column here?
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
We’ve got another strength versus strength matchup brewing in the Brave CF 86 main event. This should be a fun scrap to watch.
Atanas Djambazov Can Work Quickly
Statistically speaking, Atanas Djambazov has secured all 25 of his career wins by stoppage. Just look at the tape of his win over Catalin Alexuti in late 2015 for a prime example.
During the first round of the fight, Djambazov dropped Alexuti and took control of the match right away, regularly scoring with ground and pound shots. His dominance on the ground only made the eventual finish by submission come easier.
All Djambazov has to do in the Brave CF 86 main event is drop Mohamed Said Maalem early in the first round. His ground game can do the work from there.
Maalem Can Punch His Way to Victory
In the other corner, Mohamed Said Maalem has scored five career wins by knockout. While he had to absorb some calf kicks against Zvonimir Kralj in the first round of their fight in 2020, he recovered by putting Kralj in the clinch.
Upon a restart from the referee due to inactivity in the clinch, the fighters exchanged strike, but Maalem was clearly the aggressor, knocking Kralj down. A flurry of ground and pound shots ended the contest in favor of the former.
Should Mohamed Said Maalem beat Atanas Djambazov to the punch on Saturday afternoon, the Brave CF 86 main event will be his for the taking.
Final Thoughts
Even though we don’t have a light heavyweight championship up for grabs in the Brave CF 86 main event this Saturday, expect both of these combatants to bring championship-level intensity. A final word of advice before we bid you adieu for the night:
Get your popcorn ready before the fight starts. You may not have the time to pop it during the contest.
Prediction: Mohamed Said Maalem by First-Round Knockout.
