Canada's number five-ranked light heavyweight returns to the cage next week.
Canadian fighter Toud Stoute (10-6) steps into the octagon against Brazil's Amilcar Alves (18-19) in a non-title clash at Brave CF 36. The main event sits in the promotion's light heavyweight tier and takes place in Bucharest, Romania on Monday at noon EST.
"I don't care that (this fight) is in the middle of a pandemic. It's worth it," Stoute told MMA Empire during a recent interview.
Stoute targeting Brave CF light heavyweight championship
"This fight is the start of my title run," Stoute declared.
Monday's showdown against Alves marks Stoute's third appearance for Brave CF and the opening bout of his newly inked five-fight deal. His ambition? Capture the promotion's light heavyweight title and win every single one of those five matchups.
"I'm not looking at promotion-jumping. What I'm looking at right now is making the best out of five fights," Stoute explained.
"I'm going to fight out my contract and see what happens after that."
The 36-year-old debuted for Brave CF on short notice at Brave CF 30, where he dispatched Lukasz Parobiec by second-round TKO. Nearly a month later, he faced Mohamed Said Maalem and suffered a unanimous decision loss at Brave CF 33.
"I suffered a couple injuries at training camp and ended up fighting at like 30 per cent," Stoute recalled.
"(The fight) got taken to the distance and I lost by a point or two points, which is very frustrating. But I didn't want to (back out). I still wanted to fight."
Monday's clash against Alves marks Stoute's first outing since December 27. Pumped to return to competition, he plans to apply relentless pressure, unleash heavy strikes, and secure a finish—sidestepping the judges' scorecards entirely.
When prepping for bouts, "The Black Hulk" prefers reviewing his own fight tape to sharpen his craft. While he studies his own performances, his coaching staff digs into footage of his opponents to shape training sessions and conditioning workouts.
"A lot of guys look at their opponent's footage over and over again and don't listen to their coaches," Stoute observed.
"If you're looking at highlights of your opponent knocking people out, you think of him as more than what he is. I mostly watch my own film and trust my coaches."
Even though Stoute stressed the need to concentrate on just one adversary at a time, he was equally transparent about his ultimate objective: capturing the light heavyweight championship.
"I'm not going to look past this guy—I'm going to go through this guy. The goal doesn't stop at (Alves). The goal is that light heavyweight belt."
Alves searching to snap losing skid
At 40 years old, Alves has dropped his last three contests, all via TKO. His defeat to Andreas Gustafsson Berg in May 2019 stands out as particularly bitter for the Brazilian competitor.
"My fight against Gustafsson was really not fair," Alves shared with MMA Empire.
"I broke his nose and the referee should've stopped the fight because he didn't stop bleeding. I had to wait three minutes until he could fight again. We all know what should happen when a fighter's bleeding can't stop."
Alves reshaped his training regimen ahead of Monday's showdown, incorporating fresh grappling work into his schedule. He pointed to his muay thai and jiu-jitsu roots as key advantages heading into the matchup.
"Todd is a big guy and has good footwork," Alves analyzed.
"I have to be careful with his kicks. I've worked on improving my wrestling, so I think that will help me."
Much like his opponent, Alves wants to land a knockout blow to send a powerful message on Monday night.
"I hope I can get a contract with Brave CF," Alves expressed.
"I think this will be a really interesting fight."
Brave Combat Federation returned to the ring on July 20 with Brave CF 35. That card kicked off a run of eight European shows. The "European Invasion" stretch wraps up October 10 in Belgium.
