Badr Hari returned to GLORY Kickboxing after 15 months of inactivity (and jail time) to defeat Hesdy Gerges via unanimous decision in the headline bout of GLORY 51 Rotterdam. The rematch had been 8 years in the making after Hari was disqualified for shin kicking Gerges in the head (whilst on the canvas) in their previous meeting at, It’s Showtime Amsterdam in May 2010.
A return to winning winning ways for a lean, mean Badr Hari
Georges would stay composed in the first round and Badr would be the more active striker but come the second round, Hesdy would do what he had promised leading up-to their “Bad Blood” rematch; and put the pressure on Hari. However, come the third and final round and with both men visibly tiring, Badr would have the better gas tank and convincingly took a gritty third round to secure the decision.
Badr Hari’s application of body hooks as part of his attacks to the body were noticeable throughout the fight and characteristic of his striking habits from years gone by.
“The Golden Boy” even utilised his trademark spinning heel kicks on a couple of occasions to try and catch out Gerges who, had been caught out from a head kick in his previous fight and KO loss to, Mladen Brestovac at GLORY 45 Amsterdam – the Dutch capital being marked by GLORY‘s now CDO and former CEO, John Franklin – as a target for Badr Hari to return to on a future GLORY event in 2018.
Nabiyev secures title shot by overcoming former champion Doumbe
Alim Nabiyev would put the pressure on Cedric Doumbe in the final round of their title eliminator, putting the former GLORY welterweight champion in visible trouble to secure a convincing decision. Doumbe suffered his second defeat in GLORY since losing (his first) to, Murthel Groenhart by decision at GLORY 44 Chicago.
Since then Groenhart lost the title on his first defence by a shocking first round TKO to new welterweight champion, Harut Grigorian at GLORY 50 Chicago in their trilogy. Nabiyev’s victory should set-up his opportunity to try and take the belt from Grigorian in the coming months with possible changes to the recently announced GLORY 53 Lille fight card which, Doumbe had been announced as headlining before tonight’s loss.
Danenberg and Glunder shine bright on the night at GLORY 51
Eyevan Danenberg continued to impress by winning the GLORY 51 Contender Tournament by seeing off Thongchai Sitsongpeenong (in the final) via unanimous decision after, a messy affair (in the semi-finals) against Jimmy Vienot via split decision. The tournament success follows on from Danenberg’s flawless win by decision over the resilient Jamie Bates at GLORY 49 SuperFight Series. On current form surely “Mister Cool” can expect to challenge for the welterweight title in the first half of 2018?
An exciting fight between Massaro Glunder and Victor Pinto would result in Glunder gifting his Dad, Rodney Glunder, with a nice (belated) birthday gift of an unanimous decision victory over, the younger of two Pinto brothers. Glunder bounces back from a controversial defeat to Dylan Salvador at GLORY 47 Lyon and looks certain to build on his current momentum within the lightweight division by ideally returning to action as swiftly as possible.
Full results from both the GLORY 51 Rotterdam and GLORY 51 SuperFight Series fight cards are below.
GLORY 51 Rotterdam – Results:
Badr Hari def. Hesdy Gerges via unanimous decision (UD), heavyweight bout.
Welterweight Tournament Final:
Eyevan Danenberg def. Thongchai Sitsongpeenong via UD.
Tomas Mozny def. Daniel Skvor via UD, heavyweight bout.
Welterweight Tournament Semi-Finals:
Eyevan Danenberg def. Jimmy Vienot via split decision.
Thongchai Sitsongpeenong def. Alan Scheinson via split decision.
GLORY 51 SuperFight Series – Results:
Alim Nabiyev def. Cédric Doumbé via split decision, welterweight bout.
Mohammed Jaraya def. Miles Simson via unanimous decision (UD), welterweight bout.
Tyjani Beztati def. Anil Cabri by Rd1 TKO, lightweight bout.
Massaro Glunder def. Victor Pinto via UD, featherweight bout.
Kevin van Heeckeren def. Bart van der Kroon by Rd1 KO, middleweight bout.
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