Stephen Loman vs. Lasha Abramishvili: BRAVE CF 108 Preview

Stephen Loman is returning to the promotion he once ruled, but BRAVE CF has not handed him a ceremonial homecoming. The former bantamweight champion will face No. 2 contender Lasha Abramishvili at BRAVE CF 108 on Saturday, September 5, inside Pula Arena in Pula, Croatia. The current BRAVE event page lists the matchup as a bantamweight bout, one of 10 pairings announced for the promotion’s first event in Croatia.

The wording matters. Borislav Nikolić officially relinquished the BRAVE CF bantamweight championship when he moved to the UFC, leaving the division without its champion. Loman-Abramishvili plainly affects that picture, but BRAVE has not announced it as a title fight or formal eliminator. The honest stakes are strong enough: one man built the division’s first reign, and the other has become its most active leading contender.

Loman’s BRAVE history remains exceptional. The promotion lists him at 17-3 overall and 6-0 in BRAVE, where he became the inaugural bantamweight champion in 2017. BRAVE credits him with four successful defenses and a 1,179-day reign. His professional record includes six knockouts, two submissions and nine decisions, giving him experience winning through power, grappling and extended championship work.

The problem is time. Loman has not fought since a unanimous-decision loss to John Lineker in September 2023. Before that setback, he had beaten Bibiano Fernandes, Shoko Sato and Yusup Saadulaev during a strong run against internationally proven bantamweights. That résumé is the best opponent-quality evidence in this matchup, but it cannot tell us whether his timing, reactions and pace will look the same after almost three years without a recorded bout.

Abramishvili brings the opposite profile. He is 12-2-1 and has won eight straight since February 2023. His 12 victories include nine knockouts, one submission and two decisions, so 10 of 12 wins, or 83.3%, have come inside the distance. BRAVE says he is unbeaten through four promotional appearances and finished three of them before earning a three-round unanimous decision over Brice Picaud in June.

That latest decision may be as valuable as another quick finish. Abramishvili proved he could maintain structure through three rounds against a familiar BRAVE opponent, then accepted a major step up only three months later. Loman has championship-round experience that Abramishvili cannot match, but Abramishvili enters with current evidence of form. This is a classic forecast tension between résumé depth and recent availability.

Technically, Loman’s best route is to deny Abramishvili a predictable target. His experienced version uses measured entries, counters and phase changes to prevent opponents from building uninterrupted pressure. If he can make Abramishvili reset after single attacks, Loman can slow the fight into a contest of decisions and positioning. That is where his nine decision wins and repeated title defenses carry the most weight.

Abramishvili’s clearest route is to make the layoff visible. He can press the former champion into early defensive reactions, invest in combinations before Loman finds the timing to counter and force clinch or scramble exchanges when Loman would prefer a clean reset. His knockout percentage should not be treated as a promise against much stronger opposition, but it does show that opponents have repeatedly paid for giving him sustained offensive windows.

The strongest evidence against Abramishvili is the difference in proven competition. Loman has defeated former champions and spent years working in five-round settings. Abramishvili’s two professional losses both came by knockout, which makes every clean Loman counter meaningful. The strongest evidence against Loman is not age alone; it is the absence of a recent performance. A three-year gap introduces uncertainty that no old title defense can completely remove.

BRAVE’s own pre-fight comments keep the tone competitive rather than personal. Loman described the fight as the first step toward winning the belt again, while Abramishvili said a convincing victory would prove he deserves the next championship opportunity. The promotion’s full announcement presents both statements in context. There is no verified feud here, only two direct and conflicting ambitions in a newly vacant division.

JMA prediction: Lasha Abramishvili by decision. This structured evidence forecast gives Abramishvili a 52-60% range and a 56% midpoint, a Lean tier and no high-confidence designation. Activity, an eight-fight winning run and current three-round form create the smallest of edges over Loman’s superior résumé. If Loman looks sharp through the first five minutes and consistently interrupts Abramishvili’s pressure, the forecast flips toward Loman at roughly 53%.

How to attend

BRAVE CF 108 takes place Saturday, September 5, at Arena Pula, Flavijevska ulica, Pula, Croatia. The official Entrio listing shows doors at 7 p.m. and the event at 8 p.m. local time. The interactive seat map is active, but stable prices and category availability were not exposed in the verified crawl. Use the official page for live inventory.

The setting will draw attention, but the divisional timing gives the fight its substance. Loman can return and immediately make himself part of a championship conversation he once controlled. Abramishvili can remove the most accomplished obstacle in front of him. For more coverage of developing promotions and athletes, JMA’s Regional Sports Coverage Hub is the natural internal destination.

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