The stars of Brave CF and Hexagone MMA produced the goods on a big night for both promotions as their 11-fight card produced nine finishes in Nantes, France.
The two promotions teamed up for the event, with the top five fights on the card provided by Brave, and the six-fight preliminary card hosted by Hexagone.
The Brave CF main card served up some superb finishes, with former lightweight champion Lucas Martins needing just three minutes, 35 seconds to finish Ylies Djiroun to put himself at the head of the queue to challenge undisputed champion Abdisalam Kubanychbek.
“I trained so hard for this fight, and I did so because I want to become the champion of Brave Combat Federation again,” said the victorious Brazilian.
“Brave CF knows I am the biggest name in the lightweight division, and I’ll be a great matchup for Kubanychbek.
“Let’s make this happen, Abdisalam. I want to fight before the end of the year again.”
Heavyweight Pavel Dailidko overwhelmed Salim El Ouassaidi with punches to claim a first-round TKO finish in their main card showcase, while heavy-handed Azerbaijani bantamweight Borislav Nikolic needed just 94 seconds to finish Ali Guliev.
But the undoubted highlight of the night came in the opening bout of the main card, as Levi Carriel unleashed a spectacular head kick to finish Mathieu Rakotondrazanany and score a stunning first-round finish.
The lone main card fight to go the distance saw former combat sambo world champion Vladyslav Rudniev defeat French MMA veteran Anthony Dizy by unanimous decision.
The Hexagone MMA card saw five of the six fights finish inside the distance, with the most notable finish coming in the Hexagone MMA main event, as Laid Zerhouni captured the Hexagone middleweight title with a first-round rear-naked choke submission.
“You don’t get anything for nothing. I’ve been working for this for a very long time,” said Zerhouni.
“As soon as I joined Hexagone MMA, I said I wanted to fight for the title, and tonight I proved that I have the ability. There is no such thing as chance in life, only work.
“Now the belt is mine, if someone wants to come for it, let him come! He will have his work cut out!”
Brave CF 74/Hexagone MMA 11: Official results
BRAVE CF 74 CARD
- Lucas Martins def. Ylies Djiroun via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:35
- Vladyslav Rudniev def. Anthony Dizy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Pavel Dailidko def. Salim El Ouassaidi via knockout – Round 1, 4:11
- Borislav Nikolic def. Ali Guliev via knockout – Round 1, 1:34
- Levy Carriel def. Mathieu Rakotondrazanany via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 2:06
HEXAGONE MMA 11 CARD
- Laid Zerhouni def. Alessandro Macedo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:24 – for Hexagone middleweight title
- Chabane Chaibeddra def. Bruno Conti via split decision
- Nacim Belhouachi def. Gergely Csibi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:49
- Thomas Glot def. Quentin Domergue via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:27
- Tamerlan Albiekov def. Krajca Jindrich via submission (north-south choke) – Round 1, 3:12
- Anthony Morel def. Didier Toure via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 0:37