GLORY, the world’s new premier kickboxing league, today announced the addition of three Superfights, including a heavyweight showdown between legendary champio! n Peter Aerts (102-30-1, 77 KOs) of The Netherlands and fast-rising star Jamal Ben Saddik (24-2, 20 KOs) of Belgium, to the much-anticipated GLORY 8 Tokyo event that will be headlined by a one-night, eight-man ‘Slam’ tournament in the GLORY featherweight (65 kilograms/143 pounds) division, at Ariake Coliseum on Friday, May 3.
In another heavyweight Superfight contest, Jaideep Singh (23-6, 17 KOs) of Japan will face Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (35-9-1, 24 KOs) of Brazil. A lightweight (70 kilograms/154 pounds) Superfight will pit prolific superstarsAndy Ristie (36-3-1, 18 KOs) of Suriname and Albert “The Hurricane” Kraus (75-15-3, 45 KOs) of The Netherlands against one another.
The single-elimination tournament field has been completed with the addition of five fighters. Road To GLORY Japan tournament champion Masaaki Noiri (18-3, 7 KOs) of Japan; two-time, eight-man tournament victor Yuta Kubo (37-4-1, 17 KOs) of Japan; KO artist Liam Harrison (72-15-2, 38 KOs) of England; two-time kickboxing champion Gabriel Varga (21-1, 8 KOs) of Canada; and Lim Chi Bin (69-16, 40 KOs) of South Korea join previously announced Marcus Vinicius (7-1, 1 KO) of Brazil, three-time French kickboxing champion Abdellah Ezbiri (32-6, 11 KOs) of Morocco via France and world Muay Thai champion Mosab “The Jaguar” Amrani (48-7-4, 14 KOs) of Holland in the tournament.
Aerts, recognized as one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all-time, has faced and defeated every major rival of his generation, incl! uding reigning GLORY Heavyweight Champion Semmy Schilt, and, at age 42, he continues to do battle at the top of the division.
At 23 years of age, Ben Saddik, a native of Morocco, is nearly two decades younger than Aerts, and is on the fast-track to stardom. Nicknamed “The Goliath,” Ben Saddik is a monstrous specimen at 2.02 meters/6-foot-7 1/2, 129 kilograms/284 pounds.
Ben Saddik is coming off a strong performance at the GLORY 4 Tokyo Heavyweight Grand Slam, 16-man tournament on New Year’s Eve, where he earned two consecutive unanimous decisions over Errol Zimmerman andRemy Bonjasky, respectively, to reach the semifinal stage of the single-elimination playoff where he was defeated by world No. 2 ranked heavyweight Daniel Ghita.
Born in India, but raised in Japan since the age of three, the 25-year-old Singh ! has dominated his Japanese rivals, winning two championships while conquering the likes of Raoumaru, Hiromi Amada and Koichi Watanabe.
The 26-year-old Silva, touted as the No. 1 heavyweight kickboxer in Brazil, made his debut in Tokyo as one of the 16 GLORY tournament competitors on New Year’s Eve. Silva scored an impressive first round TKO on Igor Juskovic to advance to the tournament’s quarterfinal round where he was stopped by world No. 3 ranked heavyweight Gokhan Saki.
Ristie, a 31-year-old star known for tremendous punching power and knee strikes, rose to prominence, beginning with his March 2011 debut for the now-defunct ‘It’s Showtime’ kickboxing league when he scored a thunderous first round KO on Nick Beljaards and went on to win his next five consecutive starts for ‘It’s Showtime,’ which was acquired by GLORY in October 2012. !
Ristie made a splash debut for GLORY in Brussels, Belgium in October, scoring a crushing, first round KO on Nordin Benmoh with a left hook.
The 32-year-old Kraus is a four-time world kickboxing and Muay Thai champion who is coming off his fifth consecutive win, a unanimous decision over Warren Stevelmans at GLORY 5 London on March 23. Since making his pro debut in 1999, Kraus has etched a legacy for himself as one of the most fearsome athletes in the sport, blazing a trail through the lightweight division while defeating the likes of rival champions Buakaw Por Pramuk, Masatoand Mike Zambidis amongst others.
Tickets for GLORY 8 Tokyo on Friday, May 3, beginning at 16:00 at Ariake Coliseum, are priced from ¥5,000, and can be purchased online at Pia (http://pia.jp/t/), E-Plus (http://eplus.jp) and Lawson Ticket (http:l-tike.com).
GLORY will award a total of $180,000 in prize money to the tournament competitors, including a $100,000 grand prize to the winner.
For more information, visit www.gloryworldseries.com.
