GLORY, the global leader in stand-up combat, announced today that GLORY 78: BADR VS WRZOSEK has been set for September 4 at the Rotterdam Ahoy, the Netherlands. Ticket sales will officially launch on July 13 through GLORY’s new partnership with global ticketing provider, See Tickets.
Originally set to take place on July 17, the new event date ensures that thousands of fans will be able to attend the event. It will mark the first time GLORY has had a live event audience since February 2020.
“This card is one of GLORY’s strongest ever, certainly since the start of the pandemic,” said Scott Rudmann, Executive Vice-Chairman of GLORY. “As Europe and the world comes out of the crisis, we are delighted that we have been given permission by the relevant Dutch authorities to have a full-scale live audience. We know our fans have been very keen to see our athletes live at an event, and it’s a pleasure to bring them to Rotterdam Ahoy, the venue where we hosted our latest great events.”
“We decided some extra time to get the live audience side of things organized correctly with the local authorities, and to get these tickets on sale and the arena filled up was well worth the small delay. The response from our athletes has been very positive, they want a big live audience as well.”
Headlining the card is heavyweight kickboxing legend Badr Hari, who will meet rising prospect Arkadiusz Wrzosek in a three-round bout.
“Badr vs. Wrzosek is going to be spectacular,” Rudmann said. “Hari needs the win after coming into GLORY fighting the best heavyweights in the world, but ultimately coming up short. Now, having recovered from injuries and a case of COVID-19, he figures to enter this fight the healthiest he’s been in years. Wrzosek has knockout power, toughness and is a fierce competitor. He’s won 4 out of his last 5 bouts. With Hari and Wrzosek each coming off losses to our no2 heavyweight contender Benjamin Adegbuyi, this is a must-win for both fighters.”
Other heavyweight bouts on the card include Levi Rigters vs. Tomas Mozny, Tarik Khbabez vs. Antonio Plazibat, and Nordine Mahieddine vs. Raul Catinas.
“These are some truly talented and fierce heavyweight competitors,” Rudmann said. “Having them all compete in one night is something we are looking forward to.”
In the GLORY 78 co-main event, Alex Pereira and Artem Vakhitov will rematch for the light heavyweight title. The two previously fought in January, where Pereira edged Vakhitov via split decision on the judges’ scorecards, a result that sparked controversy around the kickboxing community.
“Our fans have been asking for a rematch after that controversial judges’ decision,” Rudmann said. “We’re excited to be able to give it to them.”
The vacant middleweight and lightweight titles will also be on the line at GLORY 78. In the middleweight division, a rematch between top contenders Donovan Wisse and Yousri Belgaroui will occur, this time with a GLORY champion’s belt at stake. In their first meeting, Wisse defeated Belgaroui by unanimous decision. In the lightweight division, former title challengers Tyjani Beztati and Elvis Gashi look to avenge title fight losses in 2019 and earn the division’s title for the first time.
Completing the card, GLORY 78 will feature a welterweight matchup between top contenders Hamicha and Dmitry Menshikov, as well as a key light heavyweight bout between Luis Tavares and Sergej Maslobojev. The winners of each fight will put themselves in a prime position to challenge for their respective division’s title. Additionally, exciting lightweight prospects Itay Gershon and Guerric Billet will compete against each other in a matchup that promises fireworks.
“With so many of the league’s top athletes in action, we want as many fans as possible to have the chance to see this incredible fight card, stacked top to bottom”, said Rudmann.
Source: www. glorykickboxing.com
