Seef District—BRAVE Combat Federation has come a long way since its inception in 2016, and Carl “The Bomber” Booth is a witness to the company’s rise from a startup mixed martial arts promotion to a global sports juggernaut.
The 31-year-old native of Nottingham, England made his first appearance under the organization’s banner at BRAVE CF 2: Dynasty in December 2016, when he took on Russian mauler Gadzhimusa “Deadshot” Gadzhiev.
Booth left a lasting impression in his promotional debut, dropping Gadzhiev to the canvas with a right straight to the chin and then following it up with one solid ground strike to compel the referee to call a halt to the contest in the second round.
The impressive victory over the Russian was some sort of a coming-out party for Booth, who went on to establish himself as a regular staple inside the BRAVE CF cage, competing in seven more bouts and engaging in memorable battles with his division’s best such as Abdoul Abdouraguimov, Hayder Hassan, Dino Bagattin and Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi.
In his most recent outing, it only took the Englishman 72 seconds to get the job done, shutting the lights out on Carlos Belloso with a barrage of punches at BRAVE CF 50 this past April.
Now heralded as a pioneer on the Bahrain-based outfit’s active roster, Booth went down memory lane and reminisced about the time he was scouted by BRAVE CF.
“It wasn’t new to me fighting overseas because I have done it before a few times,” he admitted. “I wasn’t aware of how big it was. I showed up at its second event, and I’ve seen how much investment has gone into it and the team that was working behind the scenes. I was like, ‘These guys are professionals. These guys know what they’re doing.’”
“I was super happy to be part of it, and I was 100 percent in from the very beginning,” Booth added.
Flattered by BRAVE CF’s world-class treatment, Booth knew from the onset that the promotion was destined to make it big in the growing MMA market.
“When I arrived, it was only their second show. But it was really, really good. They have high-level fighters, and the whole promotion was super organized and professional,” he shared.
As predicted by Booth, BRAVE CF bolstered its profile internationally, extending its reach by staging 48 more live events in 20 different countries–six of which are European nations such as Northern Ireland, England, Sweden and Russia.
In line with its strategy of building talents from the grassroots level, BRAVE CF took advantage of venturing into untapped European markets like Slovenia and Romania.
On June 4, the organization will unlock a new territory in the continent by hosting BRAVE CF 51: The Future Is Here at the Falcon Club Arena in Minsk, Belarus.
Many pundits see the aforementioned card as a key step for the continued growth of the sport in Europe, and Booth agrees.
“BRAVE CF changed a lot of fighters’ lives. In my own experience, I know a lot of fighters back home now have an interest in BRAVE CF and want to be part of it. The high-level guys who are dominating other shows, these guys are now showing interest to be part of BRAVE CF,” he stated.
“Definitely, they are going to make a big splash,” he continued. “They want to dominate the European market. I can’t blame them because the continent has some of the best fighters in the world. It’s now an open playing field.”
Booth believes that BRAVE CF will push the boundaries further in the years to come.
“The company is growing, and it has held 50 shows. Now, it’s known internationally. All over the world, people are talking about their fighters. I do agree that BRAVE CF is one of the most popular promotions in the world today. They’re going to grow some more,” he ended.
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