Brave Combat Federation will officially open two new divisions in 2019.
According to sources close to the situation, the Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion has decided to adopt the super lightweight (165 pounds) and super welterweight (175 pounds) weight classes next year, extinguishing the traditional welterweight (170 pounds) weight class in the process.
Brave hasn’t set a definitive date for the start of the new divisions yet, but current welterweight champion Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi, who claimed the 170-pound belt with a first-round victory over Carlston Harris in September, will be crowned the super welterweight titleholder when the change is official.
The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) approved the new weight classes in July 2017, also creating the super middleweight (195) and cruiserweight (225) divisions. Brave has no plan to adopt those divisions anytime soon.
Brave has three fight cards planned for the remaining of the year. On Dec. 12, Brave 19 takes place in Sun City, South Africa. Ten days later, the company hosts Brave 20 in Hyderabad, India, before closing the year with Brave 21 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 28.
Brave became the second organization to officially adopt the new weight classes. Four months after ABC’s decision in 2017, Shooto Brazil decided to adopt the new divisions as well.
