BRAVE CF Makes Croatian Debut with Landmark Event at Pula Arena

Pula: BRAVE Combat Federation (BRAVE CF), the world's fastest-growing and most global mixed martial arts organisation, made its official debut in Croatia with BRAVE CF 108, held on Saturday, September 5, at the historic Pula Arena.According to Bahrain News Agency, the landmark event marked Croatia as the 18th European nation and 39th country overall to host a BRAVE CF event, further expanding the promotion's international reach. The nine-bout card brought together several of BRAVE CF's top fighters for an action-packed night at the iconic venue.In the main event, Croatia's Andi "Highlight Machine" Vrtacic thrilled the home crowd by stopping French middleweight Sofian Bouafia in spectacular fashion. Vrtacic took control from the opening bell, consistently moving in and out of range while combining spinning body kicks with crisp left jab-right straight combinations to establish his offence in the opening round. True to his "Highlight Machine" moniker, Vrtacic produced the decisive moment in the second round , dropping Bouafia with a sharp left hook to the chin before unleashing a barrage of heavy ground strikes that forced the referee to intervene and stop the contest.In the co-main event, Lasha Abramishvili secured the biggest victory of his career by defeating former BRAVE CF Bantamweight World Champion Stephen "The Sniper" Loman. The Georgian took time to adjust to Loman's heavy striking but gradually found his rhythm and took control of the contest. Abramishvili displayed excellent shot selection and striking accuracy over the final two rounds to pull away and secure a unanimous decision victory over the Filipino fighter, strengthening his case for a shot at the vacant BRAVE CF Bantamweight World Championship.Italy's Walter "The Snatch" Cogliandro prevailed in a gruelling battle with Austrian featherweight Mathias "Son of Mars" Prehofer, earning a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. Prehofer pressed the action from the outset, repeatedly landing hooks from both hands against the Italian veteran. Cogl iandro remained composed throughout, drawing on his experience to counter the Austrian's aggression with well-timed strikes and persistent takedown attempts. After 15 minutes of back-and-forth action, the three judges ultimately favoured Cogliandro on the scorecards.Slovenia's Domen "The Armbar Hulk" Drnovsek overcame a difficult opening stretch to defeat Croatian lightweight Erik Pletikos in a come-from-behind victory. Pletikos relied on his striking and takedown defence to control the opening five minutes, but Drnovsek made the necessary adjustments, opting to trade on the feet before securing a takedown and applying relentless top pressure. The Slovenian eventually took Pletikos' back and locked in a rear-naked choke, forcing the Trojan Free Fighters member to tap and securing the submission victory.Bosnian rising star Amil Tutic delivered another memorable performance, scoring a highlight-reel knockout against Croatia's Ivan "Carnage" Kiš. Both fighters came out firing from the opening bell, exchangin g attacks with relentless intent before Tutic found his opening and perfectly timed a charging Kiš with a devastating knee, sending the Croatian crashing face-first onto the canvas for a resounding finish.The women's flyweight bout between Slovenia's Maja Drnovšek and Polish debutante Aleksandra Sokolowska ended in unfortunate circumstances after Drnovšek landed an illegal but unintentional knee on her grounded opponent in the third round. Sokolowska was ruled unable to continue, with the bout ultimately going to the scorecards. Drnovšek was awarded the technical decision after controlling the majority of the contest through superior grappling, repeatedly taking Sokolowska down and dictating the action on the mat.Croatian middleweight Luka Vrtacic weathered an early storm from Germany's Ali "The Gentleman" Hodeib before turning the tide midway through the opening round. Vrtacic continued to impose his will in the second round, taking the fight to the canvas and unleashing a sustained ground-and-pound assa ult that forced the stoppage.Filip Vidak recorded a statement victory over the most experienced opponent of his promising career, defeating fellow Croatian Patrick Pereša in a 73-kilogram catchweight contest. The Legacy Combat Club representative relied on his polished ground game to control the action before securing a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.BRAVE CF 108 opened with an amateur 77-kilogram catchweight bout, in which 2026 IMMAF European Champion Roni Pavlovic of Croatia showcased his potential on the international stage. Pavlovic wasted little time making his presence felt, taking Slovenia's Nejc Rupreht to the ground and securing a first-round rear-naked choke to open the event in emphatic fashion.