The draw for the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix took place earlier today, Wednesday, January 31, live from the Harbour Club in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, deciding the quarter-final matchups for the $500,000 eight-man one-night tournament taking place on March 9 at the GelreDome football stadium in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
How the draw worked, the four lower seeded fighters selected which quarter-final they wanted to compete in while the four top seeded fighters then selected which fighter to face in the opening round. As a result, the 'King of Kickboxing' Rico Verhoeven (61-10, 20 KO) opted to fight France’s Sofian Laïdouni (35-2-1, 17 KO) in the fourth quarter-final of night.
Former interim-heavyweight champion Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro (25-3-1, 13 KO) will meet the dangerous Bahram Rajabzadeh (65-1, 58 KO) in a potentially wild & explosive affair, training partners Nordine Mahieddine (28-15, 13 KO) & Nabil Khachab (26-4-1, 4 KO) must put their friendship aside when they clash, and rising Dutch star Levi Rigters (15-1, 7 KO) collides with power puncher Uku Jürjendal (20-8, 16 KO) in the opening fight of the tournament.
GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament
Quarter-Final 1: Levi Rigters (15-1, 7 KO) vs. Uku Jürjendal (20-8, 16 KO)
Quarter-Final 2: Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro (25-3-1, 13 KO) vs. Bahram Rajabzadeh (65-1, 58 KO)
Quarter-Final 3: Nordine Mahieddine (28-15, 13 KO) vs. Nabil Khachab (26-4-1, 4 KO)
Quarter Final 4: Rico Verhoeven (61-10, 20 KO) vs. Sofian Laïdouni (35-2-1, 17 KO)
Semi-Final 1Winner of QF1 vs. Winner of QF2
Semi-Final 2Winner of QF3 vs. Winner of QF4
Heavyweight Grand Prix FinalWinner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2
March 9 will also feature two GLORY title fights as Donegi Abena (27-9, 7 KO) and Tarik Khbabez (49-10-1, 28 KO) meet to decide who is the undisputed king of the GLORY light heavyweight division and lightweight champion Tyjani Beztati (25-4, 9 KO) puts his title on the line against top German Enriko Kehl (52-15-2, 30 KO).
Tickets are on sale right now and available from GLORYKickboxing.com. The event will be shown live exclusively on Videoland in the Netherlands and worldwide via various global partners. Please check GLORYKickboxing.com for full viewing information.