BRAVE CF 108 Preview: Vrtačić vs. Bouafia, Loman Return & Pula Fight Week
BRAVE CF 108 is almost here, and Off The Record follows the part of fight week that normally disappears before the cage door closes. Fighters arrive in Pula, move through media obligations and final training, manage the last stages of their weight cuts and eventually stand across from each other at the face-offs before BRAVE Combat Federation’s first event in Croatia.
The September 5 card takes place inside Pula Arena, the Roman amphitheatre that gives this event a setting unlike almost anything else on the current MMA calendar. For a shorter introduction to the venue and main event, MMAtown’s BRAVE CF 108 event promo covers the original announcement. Off The Record gets closer to the fighters themselves as the preparation gives way to fight night.
Andi Vrtačić vs. Sofiane Bouafia headlines in Pula
The main event pairs hometown middleweight Andi Vrtačić with France’s Sofiane Bouafia in a matchup that now carries an extra fight-week wrinkle. Bouafia weighed 85.3 kilograms at Friday’s official weigh-ins, above the middleweight limit, while Vrtačić came in at 84.1 kilograms. Vrtačić vs. Bouafia will still go ahead, but at a 85.3-kilogram catchweight.
Vrtačić enters his BRAVE CF debut at 9-3 with six knockout or TKO victories. His recent form has been particularly strong. He knocked out Mateusz Gola with a second-round head kick in January, then stopped Albert Odzimkowski with punches and elbows at 4:54 of Round 1 at KSW 117 in April. That last performance is also connected to MMAtown’s XTB KSW 117 bonus coverage.
Bouafia arrives at 8-4 and has built most of his success through finishes rather than decisions. Seven of his victories have ended before the final bell, making him a dangerous opponent for a Croatian favorite carrying the expectations of a home crowd inside the biggest venue of his BRAVE debut.
Stephen Loman returns with the bantamweight title picture waiting
The co-main event may have the clearest championship implications on the card. Stephen Loman vs. Lasha Abramishvili brings a former BRAVE CF bantamweight champion back to the promotion against one of the division’s leading contenders.
Loman built one of the defining early runs in BRAVE, going unbeaten during his original spell and holding the bantamweight championship before leaving the promotion. BRAVE has presented his return against Abramishvili as a fight that could determine the next challenger for the currently vacant bantamweight world title.
There was also late weigh-in drama here. Loman weighed 62 kilograms, above the bantamweight limit, while Abramishvili came in at 61.7. The fight remains on the card at a 62-kilogram catchweight.
That gives the Off The Record footage another layer. Loman is not simply returning for a nostalgia appearance; he is coming back directly into a fight that can reshape the division he once ruled.
Prehofer, Cogliandro and the Balkan prospects round out the card
The supporting lineup gives BRAVE CF 108 more depth than the two fights at the top. Mathias Prehofer vs. Walter Cogliandro adds an experienced featherweight matchup, with Prehofer entering on a lengthy winning run and Cogliandro bringing a deeper professional résumé into Pula.
Croatian lightweight Erik Pletikos meets Domen Drnovšek, while Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Amil Tutić faces Ivan Kiš in a 77.5-kilogram catchweight bout. Tutić is coming off a June decision victory over David Forster at BRAVE CF 106, avenging the narrow loss from their first meeting and continuing his development inside the promotion.
The finalized nine-fight card also features Maja Drnovšek Povšnar vs. Aleksandra Sokołowska, Luka Vrtačić vs. Ali Hodeib, Patrick Pereša vs. Filip Vidak and Roni Pavlović vs. Nejc Rupreht.
Off The Record captures the final hours before BRAVE CF 108
A normal BRAVE CF 108 preview can explain the matchups. This video fills in what those listings cannot: fighters arriving in Croatia, seeing the Pula Arena environment for the first time, going through media day, cutting the last kilograms and dealing with opponents who are suddenly in the same hotel, backstage area and face-off space.
That is particularly relevant on a card built around Vrtačić’s homecoming and Loman’s return. Both arrive with obvious sporting stakes, but very different kinds of pressure. Vrtačić has to headline BRAVE’s first Croatian event in front of his own crowd. Loman has to show that his old place in the BRAVE bantamweight hierarchy still means something years after his previous appearance.
BRAVE CF 108 takes place Saturday, September 5 at Pula Arena. By the time the historic amphitheatre fills for fight night, the media obligations, weight cuts and final staredowns captured in Off The Record will be finished. What remains is Vrtačić vs. Bouafia, Loman vs. Abramishvili and nine fights that officially bring BRAVE Combat Federation into Croatia for the first time.