The four-man heavyweight kickboxing tournament to choose a challenger for Antonio Plazibat has been confirmed and finalized. GLORY Kickboxing recently announced that GLORY 85 will take place on April 29 at the Rotterdam Ahoy.
The winner of the tournament will face the heavyweight knockout machine Plazibat for the GLORY Kickboxing Interim Heavyweight World Championship plus will qualify for the $500,000 GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix in December. This April 29 heavyweight tournament features Jahfarr Wilnis vs. Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro, Luis Tavares vs. Enver Sljivar, and the reserve for the tournament will be the winner of Murat Aygün vs. Nikola Filipovic. The entire GLORY kickboxing April 29 card was also announced. See below for details.
In a press release, GLORY Kickboxing writes:
Fight Card GLORY 85 finalized and venue confirmed
It is official! GLORY returns to Rotterdam Ahoy on April 29 with one of the most action-packed cards of the year so far.
GLORY 85 will feature the four-man heavyweight tournament that will decide who steps-on to face Antonio Plazibat for the interim-GLORY heavyweight title this summer. If that wasn’t enough, the man who has his hand raised at the end will also book a spot in the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix, set in December for a chance to win a cool $500,000.
The four participants are: two-time tournament finalist Jahfarr Wilnis (33-13-1, 8 KO), former top light heavyweight contender LuisTavares (63-8, 21 KO), Nigerian giant Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro (22-2-1), and ‘The Iron Bull’ Enver Sljivar (40-6, 23 KO).
A kickboxing legend will also make his return on April 29 as former two-time GLORY champion Murthel Groenhart (69-25-3, 40 KO) challenges current welterweight champion Endy Semeleer (33-1, 17 KO) for the title.
Groenhart left the sport at the beginning of 2021 and during the time since, Semeleer burst into promotion to capture the vacant GLORY welterweight title. However, the 36-year-old did not lay idle during the past two years as he enjoyed an undefeated run in MMA. With new skills and a regained passion for kickboxing, Groenhart is back and aiming to recapture the title.
Also on the card, GLORY veteran Michael ‘Dreamcrusher’ Duut (44-13, 21 KO) is aiming to destroy the debut dreams of newcomer Mohamed Amine (28-4, 16 KO) and popular prospect Berjan Peposhi (27-2, 16 KO) welcomes rising Dutch fighter Jan Kaffa (18-3, 7 KO) into the promotion.
In the prelims, Morocco’s Iliass Hammouche (38-32, 7 KO) and Cameroon’s Brice Kombou (17-3, 1 KO) make their GLORY debuts. Former ONE title contender Murat Aygün (35-33, 8 KO) clashes with two-time WAKO world champ Nikola Filipovic (11-9, 6 KO) in a reserve bout for the heavyweight tournament.
GLORY 85 Fight Card
Main Event
Heavyweight Tournament Final
Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final 2Co-Main Event
GLORY Welterweight Championship
Champion Endy Semeleer (33-1, 17 KO) vs. Murthel Groenhart (69-25-3, 40 KO)Light Heavyweight
Michael Duut (44-13, 21 KO) vs. Mohamed Amine (28-4, 16 KO)Featherweight
Berjan Peposhi (27-2, 16 KO) vs. Jan Kaffa (18-3, 7 KO)Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final 2
Jahfarr Wilnis (33-13-1, 8 KO) vs. Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro (22-2-1)Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final 1
Luis Tavares (63-8, 21 KO) vs. Enver Sljivar (40-6, 23 KO)– Preliminary Card –
Heavyweight
Murat Aygün (33-2, 8 KO) vs. Nikola Filipovic (11-9, 6 KO)Middleweight
Iliass Hammouche (38-32, 7 KO) vs. Brice Kombou (17-3, 1 KO)
