Dumar Roa Records Injury TKO Over UFC Vet Ian Entwistle in Brave CF 45 Headliner

After defending various submission attacks from Entwistle, Roa was able to get the upper hand, with the fight coming to an ending due to Ian's injury

Dumar Roa, your winner via TKO for BRAVE CF 45! #BRAVECF #BRAVECF45 #KombatKingdom #Bahrain pic.twitter.com/eMfpx3YygW

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) November 19, 2020

An unfortunate injury marred the ending of an otherwise exciting Brave Combat Federation event.

The main event of Brave CF 45 was short but intense. The headliner pitted Colombia's Dumar Roa (9-7) against Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Ian Entwistle (9-4), with the latter stepping back into the cage for the first time in over four years. The Englishman shot for a leg lock as soon as the match started, and for a time, it looked like he could end the battle emphatically. Roa kept faith to his "Corazon de Leon" nickname and stoically resisted the submission attempt, all while trying to fight his way out of it. After a particularly frantic scramble, "Enty" started screaming and immediately tapped, appearing as if he injured his knee. The official stop arrived at the 2:47 mark.

RAW POWER!

Mohammed Said Maalem gets it done in the first round with an incredible TKO victory#BRAVECF45 pic.twitter.com/cnNiuvydqw

— BRAVE Combat Federation (@bravemmaf) November 19, 2020

In the co-main event, Mohamed Said Maalem (11-3) stopped Zvonimir Kralj (7-4) in the opening frame of their 205-pound affair. The Algerian and "The Croatian Sensation" put on a back-and-forth brawl that saw Maalem taking his opponent's best shots and answering with some better ones. Shortly after the third minute, one of Maalem's combinations dropped Kralj. Smelling blood, the Algerian warrior attacked ferociously to score the finish, mauling his opponent with a storm of punches. When the referee stopped the action, the official time was 3:50.

Elsewhere, Kubanych Abdisalam (15-2) smashed his short-notice replacement Vagif Askerov (12-5) at the 3:33 mark of the first stanza; Nkosi Nebele (3-1) finished Zia Mashwani (3-3) with a barrage of elbows, knees and punches at 4:29 of Round 1.

Earlier that night, International MMA Federation gold medalist Murtaza Talha Ali (1-0) made his successful pro debut by submitting Vadim Litvin (4-2) in the second round at light heavyweight.