BRAVE Combat Federation will make history on Oct. 3 when Olympic judoka and Georgian sports icon Beka Gviniashvili makes his long-awaited MMA debut at BRAVE CF: Georgia vs. The World in Tbilisi, headlining the promotion’s first-ever event in the country.
The promotion made the announcement on Wednesday.
Gviniashvili, 28, brings with him an elite resume. A two-time World Junior Champion and European Games gold medalist, he represented Georgia at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has earned podium finishes at some of the sport’s most prestigious events, including bronze at the 2015 World Championships and four IJF Grand Slam titles.
His decision to step into MMA continues BRAVE CF’s push to provide a global platform for world-class athletes and makes him just the second Olympian to compete under the promotion’s banner. For Georgian fans, it is both a homecoming and the start of a new chapter for one of the nation’s most celebrated competitors.
“I want to thank BRAVE Combat Federation for giving me this incredible opportunity to start my MMA career on such a big stage, and in my home country of Georgia. I have dedicated my life to competition, and now I am ready for this new challenge. On October 3, I will give everything for my fans and my nation,” said Gviniashvili in a press release.
His opponent on Oct. 3 will be Farid Mirzabekov (2-1). Fighting out of Azerbaijan’s growing regional circuit, Mirzabekov has built his name on grit and pressure, often relying on a pressure-heavy style that forces opponents into uncomfortable exchanges and drowns them in the cage.
No word on what the rest of the card will look like as of this post.
