More MMA will come your way in primetime on Friday night. After Cage Warriors 180 settles the issue of that promotion’s light heavyweight championship in the afternoon, nighttime is the right time for stateside MMA. Two months removed from A1 Combat 24, Urijah Faber‘s promotion returns to live action for its silver card.

Hard Rock Live in Wheatland, CA, near Sacramento, is the site for A1 Combat 25 on Friday evening. Live coverage begins at 7:30 pm ET/ 4:30 pm PT on the promotion’s official YouTube channel with the prelims before going over to UFC Fight Pass at 11 pm ET/ 8 pm PT for the main card.

Barring any late adjustments for any reason, the final version of A1 Combat 25 features 16 bouts spread out against amateur and professional competitions. Highlighting the night’s activities is a fight for supremacy at 195 lbs.

Super-Middleweight Title Up For Grabs in A1 Combat 25 Headliner Friday Night

The A1 Combat Super-Middleweight Championship is on the line during the A1 Combat 25 main event of the evening. Current 195-lb. champion Kevem Felipe (10-7 MMA, 2-1 A1 Combat) makes his initial defense of the champion when he meets challenger Nick Maximov (9-2 MMA, A1 Combat promotional debut), formerly of Contender Series, the UFC, The Ultimate Fighter, and recently Fury FC.

As with all main events from regionally-based promotions in California, the A1 Combat 25 main event is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round to close the show. In accordance with California State Athletic Commission policy, effective Jan. 1, 2024, all main events in regionally-based promotions are three rounds in length.

No exception was made for title fights.

A1 Combat 25 Main Event Fighter Comparison

Heading into the A1 Combat 25 main event on Friday night, champion Kevem Felipe stands as the taller man at 6-foot-1, compared to Nick Maximov standing six feet even. Maximov owns a five-inch reach advantage (76 inches to 71 inches) over Felipe.

Currently, the oddsmakers have yet to release money lines for A1 Combat 25 on Friday night. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening over the weekend, please wager responsibly.

Felipe Looking to Cap Successful ’24 with Defense of Title Friday

Kevem Felipe enters the A1 Combat 25 main event on Friday night having gone 4-1 over his last five fights. Currently, he’s on a two-fight winning streak.

Last time out, he scored the super-middleweight championship with a first-round knockout of Jason Butcher (15-6 MMA, 0-1 A1 Combat) during A1 Combat 22 on July 20. He’s had an active year in 2024, having fought in four fights since the start of the calendar, going 3-1 from Jan. 19 up to now.

Fighting four times in the course of a year is an impressive feat and it’s even moreso when that stretch includes a title win. A victory here would make it a 4-1 stretch in 2024. Will the year end on a positive note?

Maximov Hopeful to Build Off of Submission Win

In the other corner, Nick Maximov enters the A1 Combat 25 main event having posted a mark of 3-2 in his last five contests. Back on Aug. 2, he snapped a two-fight losing streak with a first-round submission (rear-naked choke) of Elias Urbina (5-2 MMA, 0-1 Fury FC) during Fury FC 95.

This was his first appearance in an MMA fight in close to two years’ time, having not fought since October of 2022, dropping a unanimous decision at the hands of Jacob Malkoun. Maximov sustained a torn ACL against Malkoun that night.

He received a clean bill of health and has already picked up a win earlier this year. Nick Maximov has said that he wants to make a UFC return. He’s only 26 years old and could very well find himself on the short list for another call-up to Dana White‘s promotion with a win on Friday.

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Get your popcorn ready for the A1 Combat 25 main event. This should be a fun scrap to watch.

Felipe Gets the Job Done Quickly

Numerically speaking, Kevem Felipe has won seven fights by way of knockout, so once he assumes control of a fight, chances are that he’ll finish his opponent, like he did in July vs. Jason Butcher. Upon Felipe dropping Butcher, he attempted a guillotine choke, with Butcher fighting it off.

Despite that, Felipe reassumed top mount and scored with repeated ground and pound shots, forcing Mike Beltran to call off the contest. Don’t look away from your monitor once Kevem Felipe makes the walk inside the cage.

You just might miss a fight-ending sequence in the A1 Combat 25 main event.

Maximov Slick With Subs

In the other corner, look out for Nick Maximov’s ground game when the cage door shuts on Friday night. Just look at the videotape of his August fight vs. Urbina.

During the opening round of the contest, the fighters were caught in the back clinch, until about two minutes in, when Maximov dropped Urbina, with the former giving the latter a cut. Maximov grappled with Urbina, eventually applying the torque to lock up a rear-naked choke .

Maximov’s key in the A1 Combat 25 main event is simple: If he can neutralize Felipe with grappling on Friday night, he’ll walk away as the new champion.

Final Thoughts

With an 11 pm ET start time on Friday night, stay up late and watch the A1 Combat 25 main event. Although the calendar will read Nov. 15 that night, there will be fireworks resembling those seen on July 4.

Prediction: Kevem Felipe by First-Round Knockout.