Former Brave CF lightweight champion Amin Ayoub is back with Brave CF, and he’s ready to reclaim his place at the top of the division.
Brave CF officials have confirmed that Ayoub, who held the promotion’s lightweight title for 10 months between November 2020 and September 2021, has re-signed with the organization and will make his return to the Brave CF cage on September 7, at the upcoming Brave CF vs. Hexagone MMA event in Nantes, France.
The choice of comeback event is a serendipitous one, with Ayoub born and raised in Nantes, meaning his return to action represents a homecoming in two ways.
Ayoub’s first run with Brave CF saw him make a statement with a third-round submission of Djamil Chan at Brave CF 31 in South Africa. That win earned him a shot at lightweight champion Cleiton “Predator” Silva at Brave CF 44.
Ayoub rose to the occasion and knocked out the Brazilian in the fourth round to capture the promotion’s lightweight title in Bahrain.
“Fierceness” was then scheduled to make his first title defense against Ahmed Amir at Brave CF 50, but when the Egyptian was forced out of the bout due to injury, Ayoub instead faced Uzbekistan wrestler Mashrabjob Ruziboev in a non-title bout.
Ayoub defeated Ruziboev via unanimous decision to open the door for a rescheduled title fight with Amir. The pair met at Brave CF 54 in a bout that was nominated for the promotion’s Fight of the Year award. Unfortunately for Ayoub, his title run came to an end, as Amir defeated the Frenchman by unanimous decision to capture the lightweight title in Konin, Poland.
Since that defeat, Ayoub returned to France and competed four times for French promotion Ares FC. He fought Damien Lapilus in back-to-back matchups in 2022, with his first bout finishing in TKO defeat, and the second a majority draw. However, failed doping tests for Lapilus led to both results being overturned and wins awarded to Ayoub.
The Frenchman then defeated Ghiles Oudelha on the scorecards in January 2023, then followed up with a first-round TKO of Alaa Mansour in May to get his form well and truly back on track.
Now he’s back with Brave, and has designs on the lightweight belt he once held, and is now carried by Kygrzstan’s Abdisalam Kubanychbek. The pair had been scheduled to meet at Brave CF 57 prior to Ayoub’s departure, but the matchup never came to fruition after Ayoub fell ill in the lead-up to the fight. Now that bout could be back in the matchmaking conversation again, with the Frenchman looking to make his way back to the gold again.
“Amin Ayoub is a big part of the legacy of Brave CF,” said Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid.
“From a talented prospect and fighting around the world to a world champion, he will now bring the world to his native Nantes, for a historic night in the global MMA industry, with BRAVE CF’s inaugural event in France. It’s going to be a night to remember.”