Brave CF 70 will showcase one of the most intriguing fight personalities in global mixed martial arts when Luka Podkrajsek returns to face Pavel Dailidko in a heavyweight bout in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on April 23.
Slovenia’s Podkrajsek is not your typical heavyweight. An expressive and creative man with the energy of a flyweight, the WFC heavyweight champion is known for his contagious spirit that often draws fans toward him.
He describes himself as many things, including an experienced MMA fighter, personal trainer, producer, writer, musician, masseuse, explorer, bus driver, demolition man, and party expert. He has had many lives inside his own, and many of these so-called professions have actually been undertaken by Luka on a professional level.
His vibrancy and dynamism stem back to his childhood days. Born into a family of hardworking people, Podkrajsek never lacked drive or zest for life. He found an outlet for his energy through handball and dancing before acting also grabbed his attention. But he was quickly dissuaded by his school teachers, who felt he was too overzealous and lacked the finesse for the art.
Hailing from Slovenia’s working class, Podkrajsek’s parents did their best to put food on the table. With his mother plying her trade at the post office and his father working multiple jobs in and around the demolition and scrap metal industry, the young Slovenian was often left to his own devices and sometimes mingled with the wrong elements.
He started fighting on the streets of Smartno pri Litiji – an activity that gave him the release he was looking for. His dancing worked wonders as it complemented his footwork which helped him evade punches and leg kicks 50 kilometers east of Ljubljana – the country’s capital in which he will return to compete at Brave CF 70 next month.
In 2017, the then-27-year-old took his street fighting up a notch and went professional after a few years of training and focusing fully on mixed martial arts. He has since been unbeaten with four wins in as many fights.
In 2020, Podkrajsek opened his Brave CF account on a good note when he beat Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Viktor Vasic at Brave CF 34/WFC 24 in January 2020 thus securing the WFC heavyweight title. And next month, at Brave CF 70, he will look to make his mark on the most-global MMA promotion’s heavyweight division when he throws down with Lithuania’s Dailidko in a colossal fight inside the Brave CF arena.
Brave CF 70 sees Slovenia join the likes of Serbia, Germany, Russia, Romania, and Sweden as European countries which have hosted two or more Brave CF shows. Brave CF 70 will again be co-promoted with the leading regional organization WFC.