Sean Santella Chose BRAVE CF For Their Quality Opponents

The stage is set in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on Saturday, November 6 to witness the best version of Sean “Shorty Rock” Santella under the bright lights of BRAVE Combat Federation.

The 37-year-old veteran from Budd Lake, New Jersey is set to return to action on the supporting card of the highly-anticipated BRAVE CF 55, facing promotional newcomer and hometown favorite Rizvan Abuev in a three-round flyweight contest.

“I’m always excited to fight in BRAVE CF, and I know that they put up quality opponents,” Santella quipped.

Santella has had his arm raised in triumph in every mixed martial arts organization that he went to—except in BRAVE CF.

The Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu representative suffered a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Russian phenom Velimurad Alkhasov in his August 2018 promotional debut.

A victory under the BRAVE CF umbrella remained elusive for Santella when he battled compatriot Jose “Shorty” Torres to an anticlimactic majority draw at BRAVE CF 42 in September 2020.

He has the opportunity to break in the Bahrain-based outfit’s winner circle, but a tough test awaits in the form of Abuev—who’s coming into the bout with a three-fight win streak and the hometown advantage. 

Santella, who has been in the mixed martial arts game for a decade, believes that his experience will play a pivotal factor in trumping Abuev.

“Thirty-three fights in my pro career, I feel like I’ve pretty much seen everything. I have fought different types of people from all over the world: strikers, wrestlers, and grapplers,” he stated.

Despite the disparity in the wealth of fight experience, Santella stressed that he is not giving himself any room for complacency.

“Everybody is going to see an exciting fight at a high pace. I’m always in front of an action-packed fight. With me, it’s never a boring fight. I am always beating somebody up,” he warned.

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Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.