ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s shinning Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star Uloomi Karim Shaheen on Wednesday spoke about his upcoming fight against Philippine’s Jeremy Pacatiw as the country will host the 17th edition of Brave Combat Federation event on October 27 at the Nishtar Park Sports Complex in Lahore. The 27-year-old will take on Pacatiw in the bantamweight bout in a co-main event, which is going to be a first of its kind as most of Pakistani Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) stars have to go abroad to fight, while it is a step forward for the country’s fastest growing sport. “It is a big step forward and from my own team Fight Fortress there are four fighters,” Uloomi said. “We have worked pretty hard. It is big for Pakistan because many people don’t know about MMA, but it is the fastest growing sport globally and also in Pakistan. It will be great for the promotion of the sport too.” He said that before the fight the training was in full-swing and he would want to take the opportunity to win at home in front of the home crowd. Uloomi trains in Islamabad and he believes that before any event it is the preparation that counts, as he would increase the intensity of the training and the focus would be more on the cardio and conditioning, stretching to four to six hours a day, six days a week. Uloomi had lost his last bout against Afghanistan’s Emran Tarakhil in August and the youngsters is hungry for the win, while Pacatiw, who represents Team Lakay, will be riding on his last success against Keith Lee that too was in August. Ullomi’s has seven wins and four defeats under his belt, while Pacatiw has seven wins and three defeats to his credit, neither have played a draw in any of the fights. The Brave Combat Federation is an initiative held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamadal Khalifa. Brave 17 is the first International mixed martial arts event to be held in Pakistan. Athletes representing 12 nations are confirmed to compete in Pakistan. Brave 17 will aim to become the most aired combat sports event to take place in history of sports in Pakistan, according to the organisers.