Mladen Brestovac (born October 1983) is a Croatian heavyweight Muay Thai kickboxer, currently signed to Final Fight Championship, where he is the current FFC Heavyweight champion, and GLORY. He previously competed in K-1 and SUPERKOMBAT.
He was named Croatian K-1 Fighter of the Year in 2013 by a jury of experts made of Fight Channel members, kickboxing coaches and sports journalists. Mirko Filipović, as one of the best Croatian kickboxers of all time, was out of competition.
Combat Press has ranked him the #6 heavyweight in the world between December 2019 and January 2021. He has continually been ranked in the heavyweight top ten by Combat Press since December 2016.
Career K-1 Brestovac participated in the 2008 K-1 Fighting Network Austria tournament. He achieved stoppage victories against Andreas Peters in the quarterfinal and Renato Sini in the semifinal, before winning the tournament through a unanimous decision against Roman Kleibl in the final.
After winning the tournament, Brestovac had three fights in the regional circuit, scoring knockouts of Armin Zahirović, Janos Rafief-Arifov and Attila Mathe, before taking part in the 2009 K-1 Rules Tournament in Budapest. He won a unanimous decision against Joachim Thomas in the quarterfinal, knocked Máté Zentai out with a head kick in the semifinal and won the tournament with an extra round decision against Sebastian Ciobanu. In his next fight he won the K-1 ColliZion 2009 Mladá Boleslav tournament, despite winning only the semifinal bout Libor Polách, as the other finalist, Lubomir Šuda, was unable to fight due to an injury.
In October 2014, Brestovac defeated Koos Wessels by unanimous decision, to qualify to the 2009 K-1 ColliZion Final Tournament. Brestovac scored knockouts of Mihaiţă Golescu in the quarterfinal and Coco Rus in the semifinal, before facing Roman Kleibl in the final. The final went into two extra rounds, before Kleibl won the decision.
Brestovac then went on a 4–0–1 run, notably defeating Jan Soukup and winning the rematch with Roman Kleibl.
SUPERKOMBAT He subsequently signed with SUPERKOMBAT, and was immediately placed in the 2011 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II. He defeated Mighty Mo by a body kick KO in the semifinals, but lost the final bout against Ismael Londt by TKO, after the ringside doctor stopped the fight in the first round.
After a TKO win against Mourad Bouzidi, in March 2012, Brestovac fought the first match, of what would be their trilogy, against Benjamin Adegbuyi. Adegbuyi won the semifinal bout of the 2012 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III by unanimous decision.
Brestovac was scheduled to fight Chinese giant Taishan in a non-tournament bout at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 Final in Zagreb, Croatia on 15 March 2013. However Taishan was replaced, and Brestovac defeated Frank Muñoz via unanimous decision.K-1 World Grand Prix 2013 Live ResultsK-1 World Grand Prix Final 8 results and LIVE kickboxing coverage from Zagreb, Croatia TODAY (March 15)
GLORY and FFC debuts He took unanimous decision win against Sergei Lascenko, after being the better and more active fighter during the fight. Brestovac achieved effective damage with punch&kick combinations, with his left kick doing lots of damage to Lascenko's body. Lascenko, who replaced Michael Duut, had moments of danger during the fight, but not enough to take the victory. The fight was held at the Final Fight Championship 3 event in Zadar, Croatia on 10 May 2013.FFC04: Brestovac ipak protiv opasnog Ukrajinca Lascenka! FFC 4: Perak soccer kickovima svladao Jonija, "Terror" izmlatio "Psihopatu" He beat Ali Cenik by decision at Final Fight Championship 8 in Zagreb, Croatia on 25 October 2013. Weekend Results: FFC 8 in Croatia
In November 2013 Brestovac signed for world top promotion, Glory. He made his debut in his hometown Zagreb at the Glory 14: Zagreb event facing Jahfarr Wilnis, defeating him with left high kick in the first round.Mladen Brestovac potpisao za Glory : "Olakšanja nema, morat ću zapeti"[fightsite.hr/k1-boks/otkriven-i-protivnik-za-brestovca-na-gloryju-scorpion-sting-protiv-opasnog-wilnisa Otkriven i protivnik za Brestovca na Gloryju: "Scorpion sting" protiv opasnog Wilnisa!]Mirko Filipović poražen kontroverznom odlukom sudaca, ostali sunarodnjaci brutalniGLORY 14 Zagreb ResultsRemy Bonjasky Walks Away With Controversial Decision Over ‘Cro Cop’ at Glory 14Glory 14 Results and Recap
He defeated Tomas Pakutinskas at FFC Futures 2 on 5 May 2014, after he suffered arm injury early in round one. Tomas was late replacement for Wiesław Kwaśniewski. He fought, on 24 June 2014, in Slovenia against Tomaž Simonič, who replaced Nikolai Falin. Brestovac scored another victory on points, scoring a knockdown in third round with a flying knee.Brestovac komentira najnoviju pobjedu i meč Ghita vs. Verhoeven, bori se na jesen He was next scheduled to fight Nikolaj Falin in June 2014, but Falin would later withdraw and be replaced by Tomaž Simonič. He defeated Simonič by unanimous decision. Returning to FFC, he scored a TKO win against Luca Panto, who suffered an arm injury in the first round.
He became the La Nuit Des Champions K-1 rules heavyweight +100 kg champion by defeating Nicolas Wamba on 22 November 2014, in Marseille, France. Wamba was counted two times before end of second round, when his corner threw towel because of injury.La Nuit des Champions 21 - Résultats. NDC 2014 : les résultats ! Brestovac: Veselim se borbi u Opatiji, FFC pojas daje dodatni naboj
FFC and GLORY title fights Brestovac fought Wiesław Kwaśniewski at FFC: Super Final for the vacant FFC Heavyweight title. He defeated Kwaśniewski by a second-round TKO. He was scheduled to defend his title four months later, against Colin George. Brestovac won the fight just 27 seconds into the fight, breaking George's arm as he tried to block a body kick.
He was supposed to replace Benjamin Adegbuyi to fight Anderson Silva on 8 May 2015, at Glory 21: San Diego event, however the Brazilian failed hus medical test and that fight was cancelled.Verhoeven brani naslov protiv Adegbuyija, Rumunj otpao za Glory 21Benjamin Adegbuyi Out of GLORY 21, Will Challenge Rico Verhoeven at GLORY 22 He instead took part in the 2015 Glory Heavyweight Contender tournament, fighting Benjamin Adegbuyi in the semifinals. Adegbuyi won the fight by TKO, dropping Brestovac trice in the third round.
Following his first loss in over three years, Brestovac was scheduled to defend his NDC title against Fabrice Aurieng in November 2015. Aurieng won the fight by unanimous decision.
Despite the two fight losing skid, Brestovac was nonetheless scheduled to fight Rico Verhoeven at Glory 28 for the Glory Heavyweight title. Brestovac lost the fight by unanimous decision (49–46, 50–45, and 50–45).
FFC title reign and Verhoeven rematch After these three losses, Brestovac defended his FFC title against Steve Banks. Brestovac snapped his losing streak with a second round head kick knockout of Banks.
Brestovac participated in the 2016 Glory Heavyweight Contender tournament, being scheduled to fight Jahfarr Wilnis in the semifinals. He knocked Wilnis out with a head kick in the first round, and advanced to the finals, where he was to fight a rematch with Benjamin Adegbuyi. Adegbuyi won the fight by unanimous decision.
He was scheduled to defend the FFC title for the second time against Daniel Lentie at FFC 27. Brestovac won the fight by unanimous decision. He then defended his title for the third time against Dževad Poturak at FFC 29, winning by unanimous decision.
After two consecutive title defenses, Brestovac fought Hesdy Gerges at Glory 45. He knocked Gerges out with a head kick, after 36 seconds of the first round. He then challenged Rico Verhoeven at Glory 54 for the second time, but would once again lose by unanimous decision with 50–45 on all five scorecards.
He defended the FFC title for the fourth time against Jhonata Diniz at FFC 31, who he knocked out with a head kick in the third round.
2019 doping suspension Brestovac wouldn't fight in 2019, as in January of the same year, it was announced by GLORY that Brestovac was one of four fighters to have failed their doping tests, testing positive for meldonium. He was given a 19-month suspension, applied retroactively from the Glory 54 event, which effectively ended on 1 December 2019.
Brestovac faced Karim Dian at Glory 95 for a retirement bout on 21 September 2024. He won by first-round KO with a left body kick.
Titles
Professional competition Final Fight Championship FFC Heavyweight Championship (one time, current) (5 Title Def.)FFC Futures Finale: Rodriguez napustio ring usred meča, Mladen Brestovac prvak Glory 2016 Glory Heavyweight (+95 kg/209.4 lb) Contender Tournament runner-up Nuit des Champions 2014 NDC K-1 Rules Heavyweight +100 kg Champion SUPERKOMBAT Fighting Championship 2011 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix II runner-up K-1 2009 K-1 ColliZion 2009 Final Tournament runner-up 2009 K-1 ColliZion 2009 Mladá Boleslav Tournament Champion 2009 K-1 Rules Tournament in Budapest Champion 2008 K-1 Vienna Tournament Champion
Accolades 2013 Croatian K-1 Fighter of the Year
Kickboxing record
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2024-09-21 || Win ||align=left| Karim Dian || Glory 95 || Zagreb, Croatia || KO (left body kick)|| 1|| 1:13 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2018-10-12 || Win ||align=left| Jhonata Diniz || FFC 31: Las Vegas || Las Vegas, Nevada || KO (left high kick) || 3 || 1:36 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="FFBBBB" | 2018-06-02 || Loss ||align=left| Rico Verhoeven || Glory 54: Birmingham || Birmingham, England || Decision (unanimous) || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style="background:white" colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2017-09-30 || Win ||align=left| Hesdy Gerges || Glory 45: Amsterdam || Amsterdam, Netherlands || KO (left high kick) || 1 || 0:36 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2017-04-22 || Win ||align=left| Dževad Poturak || FFC 29 || Ljubljana, Slovenia || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2016-12-17 || Win||align=left| Daniel Lentie || FFC 27: Night of Champions || Zagreb, Croatia || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="FFBBBB" | 2016-11-05 || Loss ||align=left| Benjamin Adegbuyi || Glory 35: Nice, Final || Nice, France || Decision (unanimous) || 3 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2016-11-05 || Win ||align=left| Jahfarr Wilnis || Glory 35: Nice, Semi Finals || Nice, France || TKO (left high kick) || 1 || 2:06 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2016-06-04 || Win ||align=left| Steve Banks || FFC 24: Villefort vs Rela || Daytona Beach, Florida, USA || TKO (left high kick) || 2 || 2:42 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="FFBBBB" | 2016-03-12 || Loss ||align=left| Rico Verhoeven || Glory 28: Paris || Paris, France || Decision (unanimous) || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style="background:white" colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | 2015-11-14 || Loss ||align=left| Fabrice Aurieng || La 22ème Nuit Des Champions || Marseille, France || Decision || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="FFBBBB" | 2015-10-09 || Loss ||align=left| Benjamin Adegbuyi || Glory 24: Denver, Semi Finals || Denver, Colorado, USA || TKO (low kicks) || 3 || 1:47 |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2015-04-17 || Win ||align=left| Colin George || FFC18: Ljubljana || Ljubljana, Slovenia || TKO (arm injury) || 1 || 0:27 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2014-12-20 || Win ||align=left| Wiesław Kwaśniewski || FFC Super Final || Opatija, Croatia || TKO || 2 || 0:45 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" | 2014-11-22 || Win ||align=left| Nicolas Wamba || La 21ème Nuit des Champions || Marseille, France || RTD (injury) || 2 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- |- bgcolor="#CCFFCC"