Brave CF star Stephen Loman meets Philippine Ambassador to Bahrain

Alfonso A. Ver (leftmost), Stephen Loman (2nd from left)

His Excellency Alfonso A. Ver, Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain hailed the successful title defense of Stephen “The Sniper” Loman, 23, in the United Kingdom. Training out of Team Lakay of Baguio City, Philippines, Loman is the youngest champion in Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion Brave Combat Federation.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is host to a sizeable expatriate community from the Philippines. Ver stated, “I join the Filipinos in Bahrain in rejoicing and celebrating the victory of Stephen Loman. He won his Championship Belt in Bahrain and thus we consider him our own champion.”

“We are now doubly glad that he was able to defend his title and even if the fight was not in Bahrain, we were all rallying and hoping that he wins,” the Ambassador added. “We hope that he will continue to defend his title and inspire other Filipino fighters to become Brave champions! Mabuhay, Lakay Loman! (Long live, Mr. Loman!).”

On June 9, 2018, Loman successfully defended his Brave CF Bantamweight Champion title from International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) gold medalist Frans “The Black Mamba” Mlambo, 27, of Dublin, Ireland at “Brave 13: Europe Evolution” at the SSE arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This made the Team Lakay fighter the only champion from the Philippines to make a historic title defense in the U.K.

It was His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa who crowned Loman as the Brave CF Bantamweight Champion on November 17, 2017 at “Brave 9: The Kingdom of Champions” at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town, Bahrain. In the co-main event, the Filipino fighter knocked out Gurdarshan “Saint Lion” Mangat, 31, of Canada to win the inaugural title.

The initiative by the Kingdom of Bahrain to give a global platform for fighters had a positive impact towards its growing economic and cultural relationship with the Philippines. With this, Brave CF president Mohammed “The Hawk” Shahid, 28, has hinted a possible event to be hosted in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, watch the bout between Loman and Mlambo at the SSE Arena here: