BAHRAIN – A new open weight champion was crowned at Brave CF 29 as Russia’s Azamat Murzakanov took out Mohammad Fakhreddine in the first round Friday.

Brave CF made its annual trip to Bahrain, holding its biggest event of the year at Khalifa Sports City Arena, where, for the first time in the organization’s history, a KHK open weight champion was crowned.

In the semifinals, Murzakanov used his grappling to control kickboxer Guto Inocente over the course of two rounds to cruise to the finals.

On the other side of the bracket, Fakhreddine set a brutal pace from the start, taking out Kleber Raimundo in Round 2 with brutal ground-and-pound.

That set up the final between Murzakanov and Fakhreddine in the final fight of the evening. After pressuring forward, Murzakanov was able to drop Fakhreddine, swarming him with a flurry of punches. Fakhreddine made his way back to his feet before Murzakanov landed a takedown.

Murzakanov continued to press forward, as he was able to land a beautiful left uppercut, knocking Fakhreddine out and winning the open weight title, as well as $100,000.

The night was filled with high-paced action and devastating knockouts, with numerous contenders emerging from each division.

Hometown hero Kooheji prevails

The pride of Bahrain, Hamza Kooheji put on a fine showing in front of his home crowd.

He used his pressure and wrestling, landing numerous takedowns on Nahuel Gandolfi to control the fight. Gandolfi was active from bottom, throwing multiple submissions, but Kooheji was able to brush them all off.

Kooheji continued to land heavy ground-and-pound on top. In Round 3, he got the crucifix and rained down elbows until the referee was forced to stop the fight.

Santiago edges past Gaziev

Luan Santiago had one of the more refined and patient performances of his career as he got back to the win column.

Santiago threw an array of kicks – from leg kicks, to body kicks, to head kicks – and continuously switched stances. Gadzhimusa Gaziev was content to sit back and counter by coming over the top every time. It was a close first round, but Santiago might have taken it based on activity.

Round 2 was more of the same, with Santiago continuing to fight long with a karate-like side stance and his hands down. Gaziev kept trying to make Santiago pay when he lunged in, with big swings on the counter, but wasn’t able to land anything significant. Santiago was starting to figure out his timing and took the second round, as well.

In Round 3, a bloodied Gaziev came out with a sense of urgency, trying to pressure Santiago. He continued to stalk Santiago, throwing a flurry of punches but Santiago was able to escape any real damage. Gaziev shot for the takedown, but Santiago stuffed it as the two fighters clinched against the cage. The third round likely went to Gaziev, but two of the judges scored the fight in favor of Santiago, who earned the split decision win.

Kutateladze nails perfectly timed counter left finish

This one didn’t last long as expected, with both fighters coming out aggressively. Felipe Silva was able to stumble Guram Kutateladze with a big right but rushed in recklessly, and got caught with a perfectly timed counter left, dropping him as Kutateladze was able to follow up with ground-and-pound, taking Silva out in under a minute. The All Stars Gym Sweden fighter extended his winning streak to eight.

Still undefeated, Topuria scores big knockout finish

Steven Goncalves landed a kick that stumbled Ilia Topuria and followed it with a punch that briefly dropped him, but Topuria was able to duck under a rushing Goncalves and land a takedown. As Goncalves made his way back up, Topuria latched onto his neck, securing an anaconda choke that appeared to be deep, but Goncalves managed to escape. Topuria landed another takedown as Goncalves was able to work his way back up again.

After a few exchanges on the feet, Topuria eventually backed Goncalves up to the cage and landed a huge overhand right, knocking him out in Round 1. The 22-year-old Spanish prospect remained undefeated.

Official Brave CF 29 results:

• Azamat Murzakanov def. Mohammad Fakhreddine via knockout (uppercut) – Round 1, 3:47 – to win the KHK open weight world title
• Hamza Kooheji def. Nahuel Gandolfi via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:44
• Dumar Roa def. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady via knockout (knee) –Round 1, 2:29
• Luan Santiago def. Gadzhimusa Gaziev via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Guram Kutateladze def. Felipe Silva via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:44
• Luana Pinheiro def. Helen Harper via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:00
• Matis Zaharovs def. Hussein Ayad via TKO (leg kick) – Round 1, 1:18
• Ilia Topuria def. Steven Goncalves via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:42
• Amir Albazi def. Ryan Curtis via submission (key lock) – Round 1, 2:25
• Ali Qaisi def. Jeremy Pacatiw via unanimous decision
• Kasum Kasumov def. Rany Saadeh via submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 2, 3:18
• Tae Hyun Kim def. Erick da Silva via unanimous decision
• Azamat Murzakanov def. Guto Inocente via unanimous decision after two rounds, to advance to the open weight world championship final
• Mohammad Fakhredine def. Kleber Raimundo via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:09 to advance to the open weight world championship final