GLORY COLLISION 5 Preview

In what is surely GLORY’s biggest event of the year so far, COLLISION 5 will take place this Saturday at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena. The night will host four championship bouts and will see the biggest names in the sport take each other on.

GLORY COLLISION 5 Set for 4 World Title Fights

WE ARE LIVE!

Tune into #COLLISION5 now on @videoland. Visit https://t.co/mtc7jeEIOh for worldwide viewing info. pic.twitter.com/e8a5V63Vx1

— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) June 17, 2023

Antonio Plazibat vs Tariq Osaro

The main event of the evening sees the Interim Heavyweight Championship be put on the line with current number one contender Antonio Plazibat facing off against friend and training partner Tariq Osaro. Plazibat has had an excellent run in GLORY going 7-1 with the organisation and is currently on a 4 fight winning streak, finishing each victory by vicious knockout. Plazibat has picked up victories over GLORY veterans such as Benjamin Adegbuyi, Jahfarr Wilnis and Nordine Mahieddine. It has been a long time since a fighter has looked so impressive in GLORY and Plazibat will be seeking to continue this excellent vein of form by dispatching Tariq Osaro, solidifying his place as number one contender and hopefully cementing a unification bout with current champion and kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven.

Tariq Osaro possesses less experience than Plazibat yet nonetheless has been extremely impressive during his time under GLORY. Before his breakout night onto the Heavyweight scene at GLORY 85, Osaro had established himself as an extremely promising young heavyweight, picking up a decent record of 2 wins and 1 loss during his first 3 fights with the promotion. He truly showed what he was capable of at GLORY 85, where upon entering the 4 man Heavyweight tournament he dominated the competition. He first shocked fans by steamrolling veteran of the sport Jahfarr Wilnis picking up the TKO in the second round. Advancing to the final of the event he would face off against the tough turk Murat Aygun who had looked extremely impressive in his own fight earlier on in the evening. The skills of Osaro would prove to be far to much for Aygun however as the Turk was totally outclassed for the entirety of the fight before it was rightly stopped in the 3rd round. With an impressive skillset and the size and power to really compete with the Big Boys of the division, Osaro has established himself as one of the top contenders in the organisation and will be looking to reaffirm this with a win over Plazibat.

Tarik Khbabez vs Mohamed Amine

In a fight for the Interim Light Heavyweight championship number one contender Tarik Khbabez takes on relative newcomer Mohamed Amine.

Khbabez had originally been scheduled to fight the current champion of the division Donegi Abena until the champion was struck down with an illness in the week or so leading up to the fight. Fortunately Khbabez is not losing the opportunity to fight for gold now that the Interim is on the line. Khbabez has had somewhat of a mixed experience in GLORY so far as he has compiled a record of 2 wins and 4 losses with the promotion, yet he has faced only the very best that the organisation can offer such as Antonio Plazibat, Rico Verhoeven and former light heavyweight champion Sergej Maslobojev. Formerly a heavyweight, Khbabez has impressed since moving down a weight class and picked up an extremely impressive knockout win at GLORY 84 over Daniel Toledo. His impressive performances throughout his time in the organisation have allowed him to ascend the ranks of the Light Heavyweight division where he will be looking to taste GLORY gold for the first time in his career.

His opponent is the highly rated newcomer Mohamed Amine. Amine came into the organisation with a lot of hype behind him and this was proved to be well deserved after his debut against veteran and legend Michael Duut. Amine totally controlled the fight and outclassed the returning Duut who was unable to cope with the speed, precision and movement of the younger fighter. Amine was jumped forward to number 4 in the rankings following this win and now with the illness and absence of Abena from the card he has been gifted the opportunity to win a GLORY belt in only his second fight in the promotion.

Donovan Wisse vs Serkan Ozcaglayan

The middleweight title is also up for grabs Saturday night as Donovan Wisse makes a defence of his championship against challenger Serkan Ozcaglayan.

Wisse has had an extremely impressive career in GLORY, making his debut all the way back in 2018. During the five years since then he has managed to fight 9 times in the organisation and pick up an incredible 8 wins during this time. Currently on a 7 fight win streak, Wisse has established himself as one of the most dominant fighters in the organisation and among the top middleweight fighters on the planet. Wins over competition such as Juri De Sousa, Cesar Almeida and Yousri Belgaroui have shown that it will take a truly special fighter to be able to defeat Wisse and that he is truly a generational talent at the middleweight division.

His opponent Serkan Ozcaglayan will be feeling quietly confident heading into this matchup. With a an impressive 4-1 record in the organisation so far he has proven that he is no slouch and is more than capable of hanging with the best of the division. Currently on a two fight winning streak with each win coming by way of knockout, Ozcaglayan has shown to possess tremendous power, finishing 3 of his 4 victories in GLORY by knockout. His overall kickboxing record also supports this, when including fights outside the promotion Ozxaglayan can boast of an extremely impressive record of 45-7-0. 36 of the Turk win have come as a result of stoppage. It is clear that the power that he possesses is immense and that he is more than capable of shutting off the lights of anyone at the Middleweight division.

Endy Semeleer vs Jay Overmeer

The final title fight of the evening sees the Welterweight championship be put on the line by current champ Endy Semeleer against highly rated young fighter Jay Overmeer. Semeleer first won the title back at GLORY 82 where he defeated Alim Nabiyev for the vacant belt following the retirement of Cedric Doumbe. Since then he has made one defence of the belt with an excellent performance over former champion and legend of the sport Murthel Groenhart at GLORY 85. He is ranked among the best kickboxers in the world regardless of weight class and throughout his 35 fight career he has lost just once, with exactly half of his wins coming by way of knockout. Possessing an extremely strong skillset and natural abilities, Semeleer will be looking to further tighten his grip around the welterweight division and truly make a statement on Saturday night.

His opponent Jay Overmeer, is another young highly rated contender. Overmeer has managed to go on a 4 fight tear ever since joining GLORY just over a year ago. Very impressively he has managed to get the KO victory in three of these wins and his most recent outing was a dominant display over a top contender in Jamie Bates. Ending the fight in the second round Overmeer became the first man to stop Bates in GORY. He will need to be at his sharpest if he hopes to beat Semeleer on Saturday night yet it appears that he is more than capable of tangling with the very best and may be able to cause an upset.

Rest of Main Card

Felipe Micheletti vs Ibrahim El Bouni

This Light Heavyweight clash sees two contenders do battle in a fight where the winner may potentially be granted a title shot. Felipe Micheletti has taken 6 fights in GLORY maintaining a perfectly even record of 3-3. These losses have come against the top names in the sport with his most recent coming against current champion Donegi Abena. Since the Abena loss Micheletti has picked up a win over veteran Nordine Mahieddine and will look to continue this momentum by picking up a win over Ibrahim El Bouni.

El Bouni only made his debut in the organisation last year yet his 3 victories from 3 fights in 2022 have made him one of the most talked about contenders in the Light Heavyweight division. Yet this will be by far the toughest test of his GLORY career and he can really put his name on the map if he manages to deliver an impressive display against the ever dangerous Micheletti.

Michael Boapeah vs Ulrich Bokeme

The opening fight of the main card sees middleweight contenders go at it. Michael Boapeah and Ulric Bokeme. Both of these men have had at least 2 fights in GLORY with Boapeah sitting at 2-1 and Bokeme at 1-1. Both are also coming off of a win and will be looking to establish some momentum in the division. Particularly Boapeah who currently sits at number 3 in the rankings. It is not hard to imagine him being awarded a title shot if he picks up a win on Saturday. 3-1 record, a 2 fight win streak and at least Number 3 in the rankings would be more than enough to grant him a shot at the gold. Likewise for Bokeme, currently coming off of a win and another against number 3 ranked Boapeah would surely put him in an excellent position for a number 1 contenders fight at least if not a title shot itself.

Prelims

Nabil Khachab vs Vladimir Toktasynov

A heavyweight bout between two contenders, Nabil Khachab is 1-1 in the promotion with his most recent fight being a loss against Sofian Laidouni who has gone on to establish himself as a top fighter at heavyweight. Khachab will be looking to accomplish something similar and a win on Saturday would provide him the perfect springboard to leapfrog his way up the division. His opponent Vladimir Toktasynov will be making his GLORY debut and while he hits hard and can take a punch, if Khachab truly wishes to mix it up with the best of the division it is crucial that he picks up a solid win on Saturday night.

Diaguely Camara vs Eduard Gafencu

This welterweight clash will see two prospects make their GLORY debuts. Both possess solid records and each one will be looking to start their life in GLORY on a winning note. A solid performance on Saturday could land either one of these men with a more well known ranked opponent in their next fight.

Andrej Kedves vs Mareks Pelcis

The opening fight of the night will be between two young combatants in the Lightweight division. Both making their debut in GLORY and both looking to make a statement. Often these types of fights can be the most entertaining as their is a relative unknown factor and both participants are desperate to put everything on the line in their GLORY debut.