GLORY85 Fight by Fight Preview
GLORY 85, April 29, live from Ahoy in Rotterdam, has two main focal points for this epic card:
1. the GLORY welterweight title fight.
2. the official kick-off of the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix.
SEMELE VS. GREENHEART
GLORY welterweight champion Endy Semeleer (33-1, 17 KO) welcomes returning Dutch kickboxing legend Murthel Groenhart (69-25-3, 40 KO) to the GLORY ring.
It has been more than two years since Groenhart set foot in the GLORY ring. The former champion has turned his attention to MMA for the past twenty-four months, where he managed to win 3 fights and now returns to kickboxing with renewed energy and additional skills. While he was gone, Semeleer came to GLORY to claim the vacant title and catapult himself to the top of the division.
There are many factors that go into this fight. At 27, Semeleer is nine years younger than Groenhart and has been more active in kickboxing in the past two years with four major victories. On the other hand, Groenhart has the advantage of more experience and a higher KO ratio than many in the welterweight division.
4-MAN HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT
And now on to the heavyweights. A four-man one-night heavyweight tournament will determine the next interim title challenger and the first entrant to the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix in December. The format is as follows:
Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal 1
Jahfarr Wilnis (33-13-1, 8 KO) vs. Tariq 'Cookie' Osaro (22-2-1, 10 KO)
Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal 2
Murat Aygün (33-2, 8 KO) vs. Enver Sljivar (40-6, 23 KO)
Heavyweight Tournament Final Winner of Semifinal
1 vs. semi-final winner 2
Anything can happen with heavyweights, especially in tournaments. During this tournament, four tough fighters participate, each of whom has a chance of winning.
Murat Aygün (33-2, 8 KO) takes the place of Luis Tavares, due to his absence. This is a great opportunity for Aygün, who already has a lot of international fighting experience and is making his GLORY debut. Still, Enver Sljivar (40-6, 23 KO) is not impressed by his opponent substitution, he just goes for the win.
In the other group, there is an exciting battle between number #7 ranked Jahfarr Wilnis and number #8 ranked Tariq Osaro. This fight is hard to predict in advance and many say winning this match could win the entire tournament. This is also reflected in the betting odds where Unibet offers 2.05 for Wilnis to win and 1.67 for Osaro.
DUUT VS. AMINE
Dutch veteran Michael Duut (44-13, 21 KO) will return to action for the first time since 2021. The 33-year-old welcomes newcomer Mohamed Amine (28-4, 16 KO) to the GLORY ring. The veteran Duut is looking to once again prove he's at the top of GLORY, while Amine has a great chance to make an immediate impact and knock out one of the division's greats of the last decade. Unibet seems to have a slight preference for Duut at odds 1.57 where you get double your bet if Amine wins the match.
PEPOSHI VS. KAFFA
Two young and active featherweights will go head-to-head on Saturday night as Albanian Berjan Peposhi (27-2, 16 KO) meets rising Dutch star Jan Kaffa (18-3, 7 KO) . At 22 and 24 respectively, both are still trying to establish themselves, so we can expect an explosive fight.
KWASI VS. FILIPOVIC
Since Murat Aygün is in the heavyweight tournament, Fabio Kwasi (45-8, 22 KO) will fight Nikola Filipovic (9-2, 6 KO ) in his place . Kwasi accepted this fight without hesitation, with enough confidence and ready to fight. Nicola Filipovic will meet his opponent in a reserve match for the heavyweight tournament, with both men not only aiming for victory, but an early finish is the goal to be as fresh as possible when called upon later in the evening.
BRATKOWICZ VS. KOMBOU
In the opening game of the evening, the Polish Maksymilian Bratkowicz (11-3, 3 KO) will take on the Cameroonian Brice Kombou (17-3, 1 KO). Both fighters will make their GLORY debut. There is a lot of pressure on these fighters to win the crucial first fight in GLORY. So we can expect an exciting clash, given their own unique skills.
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