The Brave CF promotion traditionally features many Russian wrestlers. One of them is Roman Bogatov, former M-1 champion. Additionally, he competed in the UFC. True, his career in the best league in the world can hardly be considered successful: the Russian lost a fight and left the league with a scandal. But after that, Bogatov managed to find himself in another promotion – Brave.
Roman made his debut in professional mixed martial arts in 2016 in his homeland, Orenburg. After two victories, Bogatov reached the M-1 league, where he proved to be excellent. Five straight wins, four of which were earned by submission, propelled Roman into title contention. In 2019 he defeated Rubenilton Pereira by unanimous decision and became the new champion of the organization. And after that there were two first successful defenses of the title in fights with Michel Silva and Michael Leboux.
Roman Bogatov (left)
Photo: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images
With a 10-0 record, Roman found himself in the best league in the world and Russian mixed martial arts fans had high hopes for him. But his debut in the UFC was not, to put it mildly, the best. The Russian fighter met with the experienced Brazilian Leonardo Santos. In this fight, Bogatov put in a real performance with a minus. Roman managed to break the rules four times. He first punched the Brazilian in the eye, then twice hit him in the groin, culminating in an illegal knee while Santos was sitting on the ground.
Mark Goddard, who refereed that fight, more than once tolerated Bogatov’s antics and verbally warned the Russian. But the last infraction forced him to punish Roman and the referee deducted two points at the same time. At the end of the fight, Bogatov attempted to finish off the tired Brazilian, realizing that he had lost the fight on points. But Santos survived and won by unanimous decision: all the referees gave the victory to Leonardo with a score of 29-26.
After the fight, Bogatov practiced sarcasm on social media, posting his violations and taking issue with the judges’ comments. And then he threatened Mark Goddard.
“Mark Goddard, you brute. Wait until I find you outside the octagon,” Roman wrote, tagging the referee’s account.
Details of Bogatov’s conflict in the UFC:
Photo
“I’ll meet you outside the octagon!” Russian UFC fighter threatens famous judge Goddard
However, there was no reaction from Goddard, but the league management found an answer: the contract with Bogatov was unilaterally terminated. It’s unclear if the threats against Goddard were to blame for this, or if Bogatov’s performance completely disappointed UFC bosses. One way or another, the promising Russian was left out of the best league in the world, having played only one fight there.
The fight with Santos took place in the summer of 2020, but after six months Bogatov found the option to continue his career and ended up at Brave CF. The defeat didn’t bother Roman or faze him. The Russian fighter put Goddard’s situation out of his mind and began a new chapter in his career. He found himself in a league that was literally packed with fellow countrymen.
This season, Brave CF streams are available on OKKO.
Bogatov broke into Brave with a decision victory over Nurzhan Akishev, after which he also defeated Abdulmutalib Gairbekov by decision and advanced to the title fight. In October 2022, Bogatov defeated Tai Kyun Kim in a tough five-round fight, becoming the Brave featherweight champion.
Brave is a forge of potential mixed martial arts stars:
Cooler than all Russian leagues? How Brave produces new stars for the UFC
Bogatov couldn’t hold on to the belt for long. In his last fight, Roman made his first defense of the new belt against Nemat Abdrashitov and lost by unanimous decision.
However, Bogatov is one of the most prominent representatives not only of the featherweight division, but also of the entire Brave League. Roman has excellent skills and aims to regain his championship belt in the near future.
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