GLORY makes its return to Rotterdam this Saturday night for a card that is sure to amaze fight fans across the globe.
In what is sure to be another excellent night of fights, fans all over the world will be treated to a title fight along with a heavyweight tournament with a place at the Heavyweight Grand Prix up for grabs and a shot at the $500,000 prize.
Title fight
The evening’s title fight will see Lightweight champion Tyjani Beztati take on Kait Ono in a defence of his crown. Beztati has made three successful defences so far of the belt and will be looking to establish himself as a dominant champion within GLORY with a fourth. His opponent Kaito Ono will be doing his utmost to ensure that this does not happen. Making his debut in GLORY, Ono has found great success in other promotions and was crowned the RISE Middleweight (equivalent to GLORY’s Lightweight) champion earlier this year. He also defeated GLORY top fighter and former title contender Stoyan Korpivlenski last year at a joint show held by both RISE and GLORY showcasing the talent between the two organisations. Already proving that he has what it takes to beat top contenders in GLORY and proving himself in many organisations all over the world, Ono will believe that he is more than qualified to be granted a shot at Beztati’s belt.
Heavyweight Tournament
Tournaments always generate a level of excitement and even more so when it is a Heavyweight tournament. Estonian powerhouse Uku Jurjendal will be looking to have another performance like his last time out, ending in a first round KO victory. However, come Saturday night he will be facing quite literally one of the biggest tests of his career. Standing at 6 feet 9 inches tall Martin Terpstra has an impressive skill set to go alongside the physical attributes and has established himself as a champion in top promotions such as Enfusion.
The other two Heavyweights making an appearance are Bahram Rajabzadeh and Mohamed Amine. Rajabzadeh is coming off of a spectacular headkick KO over Luis Tavares and is among the most exciting talents currently on the GLORY roster. Amine is an extremely technical fighter who lost his last fight after taking it on only a few days notice. Looking to replicate his performance against legend Michael Duut he will see this as massive opportunity to take down one of the most talked about prospects in GLORY at the moment.
Main card
The rest of the main card is stacked so don’t worry about the event being top heavy. Former Welterweight champion Murthel Groenhart will be making his return after being defeated by Endy Semeleer in his last bout for the Welterweight championship. His opponent Chihad Akipa has proven himself as a solid Lightweight and will be making his debut at Welterweight and has the opportunity to get a win over a former champion in his first fight at his new weight class.
Also on the card is a Middleweight title eliminator between Michael Boapeah and Sergej Braun. Boapeah has established himself as the number one contender in the division after joining the organisation a year ago and has gone 3-1 during his time with the promotion so far. He has the chance to avenge his one loss on Saturday night as Sergej Braun will be looking to repeat history and defeat Boapeah. This time instead of beating a rising prospect he would be defeating a number one contender and surely deserving of a title fight after.
To open up the main card we see two big prospects in the organisation in Jan Kaffa and Mohamed el Hammouti. Kaffa has previously impressed with performances against Berjan Peposhi and Hammout will be looking to gain the first win of his GLORY career after losing an excellent fight between himself and former title contender Ahmad Chikh Mousa.
Main Card
- Bahram Rajabzadeh def. Uku Jürjendal via Unanimous Decision (30-27) x3 — Heavyweight Tournament Final
- Tyjani Beztati (c) def. Kaito Ono via Unanimous Decision (50-45 x5) — for the GLORY lightweight championship
- Michael Boapeah def. Sergej Braun via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x1), (30-27 x4)
- Murthel Groenhart def. Cihad Akipa via Unanimous Decision (29-28 x1), (30-27 x4)
- Jan Kaffa def. Mohamed El Hammouti via Split Decision (29-28 x4), (28-29 x1)
- Uku Jürjendal def. Martin Terpstra via KO (Second Knockdown in a round), R1 2:23 — Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final 2
- Bahram Rajabzadeh def. Mohamed Amine via KO (Second Knockdown in a round), R2 2:59 — Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final 1
Prelims
- Imad Hadar def. Bartosz Muszynski by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Nikola Filipovic def. Cristian Ristea by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27) — Heavyweight Tournament Reserve bout
