Abdisalam Kubanychbek prepares for the first real defense of his lightweight world title when he fights Raul Tutarauli at BRAVE CF 87.
A lightweight title fight will be the highlight of BRAVE Combat Federation’s second event in the Netherlands, when reigning lightweight champion Abdisalam Kubanychbek defends his title against Georgian two-weight champion Raul Tutarauli at BRAVE CF 87, scheduled for September 22 in Alkmaar.
The fight is Kubanychbek’s first actual title defense. He was originally scheduled to defend the title at BRAVE CF 77 against Lucas Martins, but after the challenger failed to make weight, the fight was moved to a non-title affair. Despite this, Abdisalam showed his world-class qualities and outboxed Martins to earn a first-round stoppage.
The Kyrgyz star is undefeated in the BRAVE Combat Federation and has not lost a fight since 2017. With wins over notable opponents such as Kamil Magomedov, Olzhas Eskaraev, Lucas Martins, Jahongir Saidjamolov and Rolando Dy, Kubanychbek has firmly established himself as a dominant force in the lightweight division and the most feared fighter on the roster, nicknamed “The Boogeyman of BRAVE CF.”
Raul Tutarauli, on the other hand, is looking to achieve what fellow Georgians Ilia Topuria and Guram Kutateladze failed to do: win the BRAVE CF title. Although he is new to BRAVE CF, Tutarauli knows the team, which has a 5-1 record against former BRAVE CF players, and his star-studded resume includes wins over Marcel Grabinski, Valeriu Mircea and Marcin Held.
Raul is a champion in two regional weight classes, namely featherweight and lightweight. He is currently ranked number one in the lightweight division in five different regional Tapology rankings and also holds the top spot in four different regional featherweight rankings, making him one of Kubanychbek’s toughest challenges yet.
At the same time, Raul holds a professional MMA record of 34 wins and 7 losses, with 22 of those wins coming by knockout – almost twice as many knockout wins as the current lightweight champion.
Held in partnership with Enfusions ECE MMA, BRAVE CF 87 is the seventh event of the year for BRAVE Combat Federation and the second in the Netherlands. The organization debuted BRAVE CF 83 in the Netherlands earlier this year, further extending its record as the most hosted MMA organization in the world and Europe. BRAVE Combat Federation now returns to the Netherlands as part of its 70-day world tour, which includes six countries worldwide.
