The main event of GLORY 80 will be a moment of truth for two men. Each heavyweight will be fighting to prove themselves. The towering Polish fighter Arkadiusz Wrzosek will be fighting to prove his rightful place as the next top contender and show he deserves to be in this division. The all-time heavyweight great Badr Hari will be looking to prove that he should still be in the sport at all. Hari will be seeking revenge for his humiliating loss and Wrzosek will be looking to show his proper worth to the kickboxing world.
Arkadiusz Wrzosek
Arkadiusz Wrzosek towers as a heavyweight kickboxer with a 201 cm (6’6″) frame. While Wrzosek has held titles in ISKA and FEN, his crowning moment is a stunning headkick knockout against Badr Hari. The Polish-born Wrzosek was taking a hard beating in this fight and getting dropped multiple times. Despite powerful body strikes the will of Wrzosek could not be broken. He nailed Hari with a hard headkick which left the Moroccon-Dutch fighter in an unconscious heap. Some have even gone so far as to call this the greatest comeback in history.
“I was very excited and very happy after the knockout. But I can’t remember a few minutes after the fight… Too many emotions,” Wrzosek tells MMA Sucka, “Before the first fight I felt many weird feelings, you know. It was something different … I dreamed about fighting for GLORY. This first fight with Badr was different. It was … hard to explain. It was like the biggest dream coming true. It was a very weird feeling, weird is a good word.” And adds, “It hurts to get kicked from my feet.”
Badr Hari
Badr Hari entered the kickboxing scene nearly 20 years ago and was preordained to be an all-time great. He struggled to earn titles, often due to his own negligence. But fighters never doubted his incredible skills. Hari fought with incredible speed, power, and precision. Hari has struggled even more in recent years going 0-4-0 (1 NC) in his last five fights since 2016. This Moroccan-Dutch is in a must-win position to prove that he still belongs in this career.
“He’s always dedicated and still has the hunger… He has five children, he has a family. When he comes to the gym always he put the maximum in his training.” Recently, Hari’s trainer Said El Badaoui, coach at SB gym, sat down with MMA Sucka to discuss the GLORY 80 fight and his student Badr Hari, “The game plan? We don’t have a game plan because we’re gonna do what we did the last time. You have seen the fight. We’re not gonna change anything. The only thing we’re gonna do is stay sharp, and working the body. Badr was having one a really good fight against Arkadiusz except for the one kick, he was winning the whole fight.”
Badr Hari vs Arkadiusz Wrzosek II – GLORY 80
“He’s maybe the biggest talent we’ve ever had on the face of the earth… [Badr Hari] needs to win. He really needs to win the fight because people are going to start to doubt his comeback and start to doubt his power.” Kickboxing great Remy Bonjasky tells MMA Sucka on discussing this main event fight. Badr Hari is in a position in which he must win this bout to prove his place in kickboxing. With another loss, the 37-year-old fighter may need to start considering retirement. “This fight is going to be big because Badr [Hari] lost that fight and he’s there for revenge,” Bonjasky said, “From experience, I know that Badr when he comes for revenge he’s willing to kill.”
The Polish kickboxer Wrzosek will be looking to block the comeback trail for Hari and prove his place atop the stacked GLORY heavyweight division. With a win, he could claim a top contender spot and look to fight the great champion, Rico Verhoeven. Fights such as the winner of Levi Rigters vs Jamal Ben Saddik. Croatian knockout king Antonio Plazibat is awaiting an official fight call along with top-ranked fighter Benjamin Adegbuyi. There are many top fights for the winner of Badr Hari vs Arkadiusz Wrzosek II. For a loser of this match potential options include retirement or Alistair Overeem?
One fighter seeking revenge while the other is seeking legitimacy. The heavyweight main event at GLORY 80 is sure to be fireworks for sports fans. Badr Hari vs Arkadiusz Wrzosek is the strong veteran versus the young upstart. The two will settle their score on March 19.
Special thank you to GLORY Kickboxing
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