This weekend at GLORY 85 the welterweight kickboxing world title will be on the line as Endy Semeleer looks to defend his throne against Murthel Groenhart. But one man is not happy; Alim Nabiyev.
“The Professor” Alim Nabiyev battled and lost against Endy Semeleer in a close and contentious split decision. Many fans disagreed with the decision of the November Glory 82 bout for the vacant welterweight crown. The Azerbaijani athlete Nabiyev believes that he should have won but at the very least deserved an immediate rematch.
Alim Nabiyev talks GLORY 85
In an interview with VechtSport, Nabiyev discussed his GLORY 82 matchup against Semeleer, he said: “I didn’t think it was a close call, I won that match … I’m glad the fans appreciate the real winner, they know better than some of the judges.”
GLORY Kickboxing decided to have their newly crowned welterweight king Semeleer defend against the former titleholder Groenhart. Nabiyev and his team had requested the match however GLORY had other plans. He said, “My team asked for this by e-mail and had some calls, but as you can see, Murthel was preferred. In all fairness, it should have gone to me. I don’t want to say anything to Murthel’s detriment – he’s a good fighter. But I should have been standing here. I should have defended the Glory title this Saturday!”
Even though Nabiyev disagrees with the matchmaking, he believes he’ll be next in line to face the winner. He added, “I don’t know when I’ll fight yet, but I’m assuming I’ll fight the winner of the fight between Semeleer and Greenheart.” Nabiyev already has a win over Groenhart, who has been winless since 2019.
See the full GLORY 82 match between Endy Semeleer and Alim Nabiyev below:
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