Bahraini MMA promotion Brave CF has announced the launch of a brand new team-based competition for amateur MMA.

Called the “MMA Super Cup,” the competition is a new tournament which will be promoted in partnership with the world’s governing body of amateur MMA, IMMAF, as well as KHK Sports and the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation.

The inaugural tournament, which will take place between March 7-12 in Bahrain as part of Brave International Combat Week, will feature eight national teams, who will compete for the first prize of $100,000, with the second- and third-placed teams earning $75,000 and $50,000, respectively.

The national teams were chosen from the IMMAF Senior Global Rankings, with the first six places in the tournament given to the top six nations in that list.

Russia, Ukraine, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Ireland and Tajikistan all earned their spots via that method, with additional wildcard teams representing Balkan Champions and Arab Champions rounding out the eight-team lineup.

Each team will feature nine fighters in its lineup, seven male fighters and two female, with one competitor per weight class. In addition, two male substitute fighters and one female subsitute fighter are also permitted, per team.

Tournament Format

A draw will be made to determine the quarter-final lineups, with each round of the tournament consisting of nine bouts between the two competing national teams.

Each fight will be contested over three 3-minute rounds, with no draws permitted. In the case of a tied match, additional rounds will be held until a clear winner emerges. 

The team with more wins after all nine fights will be declared the winner and will progress to the next stage in the tournament.

The tournament will whittle the field down to the final two teams, with the winner claiming the $100,000 prize and the inaugural MMA Super Cup trophy.