The duo had been trading barbs for weeks and met inside the BRAVE Arena for BRAVE 25, which took place last Friday at the Arena Minas Tênis Clube. The fight was over before everyone knew, when Luan tried to go for a single leg takedown and ended up having his back taken.
An experienced and underrated submission artist, the challenger preferred to lock in the choke, before looking for the hooks, successfully making Luan tap and becoming the oldest-ever BRAVE Combat Federation world champion at 33 years of age.
Nicolau earns a hard-fought victory
Newcomer Matheus Nicolau showed a much-improved stand-up game, and a better use of leg kicks to best Felipe Efrain in the co-main event. The clash was seen as the duel between the two best Brazilian Bantamweights, and it did not disappoint.
Cleiton “Predator” def. Luan “Miau” Santiago by submission – Round 1
Matheus Nicolau def. Felipe Efrain by unanimous decision
Mehdi Baghdad def. Erivan Pereira by split decision
Leonardo Mafra def. Djamil Chan by unanimous decision
Daniel Gaucho def. Bruno Assis by KO – Round 1
Marcel Adur def. Marlon Derik by unanimous decision
Rafael Marquezani def. Geraldo Coelho by KO – Round 1
Caio Gregório def. Nkosi Ndebele by TKO – Round 2
Flavio Queiroz def. Jean Felipe by submission – Round 1
Alex Sandro def. Alessandro Gambulino by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) – End of Round 1