Picture Credit: Twitter
The Brave CF 57 co-main event saw the bout between Mohammad Fakhreddine and Mohamed Said Maalem. The duo has had a lot of acrimony before the match that continued over even after their fight.
Said Maalem won the fight with a knockout and extended his record to 11-4 on Friday’s card in Bahrain and then went over to Fakhreddine’s corner and flipped at his team. As a result, one of Fakhreddine’s cornermen climbed over the cage and jumped in which prompted a mini brawl.
An unlikely hero emerged as Referee Aaron Wallace stepped in and tried to control the people involved in the scenario. Wallace did his best to hold Fakhreddine down. But, Fakhreddine’s cornerman managed to break free and rushed Wallace with a punch. Wallace still continued to pull back a lot of men and separate people to calm the situation down. As everything quieted down, both competitors gathered in the middle of the cage to hear the results.
Watch Referee Aaron Wallace hold down Said Maalem after his victory:
Fakhreddine and Maalem have built an intense rivalry after their first fight in August at Brave CF 52. Maalem also won that contest by TKO in the first round with many hits to the back of the head. After the incident, the ruling was reversed to a no-contest when Fakhreddine filed an appeal with the Italian Federation of Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts.
Fakhreddine then went on to win the vacant Brave CF light heavyweight title in the rematch, but after this matchup, a third fight is probably on track.