Brazil's Guto Inocente, Matheus Scheffel shortlisted for KHK World Championship in Bahrain

KHK World Championship belt

Guto Inocente, 33, and Matheus “Buffa” Scheffel, 26, are only one step away from competing in the inaugural KHK World Championship. Both mixed martial artists are fighting out of Brazil.

Brave Combat Federation and Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Mixed Martial Arts will hold the first ever KHK World Championship in Bahrain on November 15, 2019. The bouts will be on the card of “Brave 29,” which is part of the Brave International Combat Week.

A one-night, four-men, open weight MMA tournament, KHK World Championship will award a US$ 100,000 check to the winner. He will be the first ever holder of the KHK World Championship belt, which is made of 6.2kg of gold.

Originally, Brave CF and KHK MMA planned to shortlist only 10 MMA fighters as participants of the inaugural KHK World Championship. However, the organizations extended the list and included 15 MMA fighters including Inocente and Scheffel.

Born in Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil on May 29, 1986, Inocente was seven years old when he started his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training. As a professional MMA fighter, he competed from 2005 to 2015.

In 2014, Inocente competed in "The Ultimate Fighter 19" finale and at "UFC Fight Night 55" and lost both bouts. He holds a professional MMA record of 7 wins and 4 losses.

Scheffel has 13 wins and 6 losses. He has been competing professionally since 2012.

Currently, Scheffel competes in Future Fighting Championships. He is set to face his countryman Fábio "Fabão" Vasconcelos, 28, at "Future FC 9" in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 19, 2019.

Inocente, Scheffel and the other 13 shortlisted KHK World Championship fighters were chosen from the hundreds of athletes who applied. They are from 11 countries namely Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Iran, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the United States.

“Our special committee was unable to cut all the hundreds of fighters and make a list of only 10 athletes,” Brave CF president Mohammed Shahid stated. “There was too much talent involved so they decided to leave 15 names and we’ll draw them out and see what are the matchups.”

“I understand them as I would definitely have a hard time making the same choice,” Shahid continued. “I’m very excited to find out who will be coming to the Kingdom of Bahrain to fight for the inaugural KHK World Championships.”

Among the 15 shortlisted MMA fighters, four will be selected to compete in the semifinals while one will serve as an alternate in case of an injury. Check the list on Conan Daily.