Although there was plenty of MMA on display for fight fans this weekend with the UFC, Invicta, Bellator and ONE Championship all staging events, the biggest brawl of all was inside a kickboxing ring.
One of the greatest kickboxers of all time kept things rolling earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 9, 2017) at GLORY 49: Redemption took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven (52-10-1, 10 KO) put a brutally finish Jamal Ben Saddik via fifth-round knockout in the main event.
The fight was a rematch of a 2011 fight that saw Saddik come away victorious in what was his first professional outing.
Since that day, Verhoeven went on to become the heavyweight champ and finish all comers. When asked whether he saw anything in the Dutchman that signalled a future champion, Saddik gave a fiercely honest reply.
“Back in 2011, I fought Rico, and I stopped him in the second round,” Saddik told UFC.com. “It was my very first professional fight. Did I see anything in him then which made me think he would go on to be the champion today? No, not at all. It was my first professional fight, but he was experienced, and I stopped him. So that wouldn’t make you think that he would go on to be champion.”
Verhoeven proved too much for Saddik, not only retaining his GLORY heavyweight title but also retaliating his previous loss. After a knockdown KO in the 5th round, Verhoeven quickly gained, finding a KO just moments later.
Check out the KO below.
NO TOUCH. The #GLORYRedemption main event is UNDER WAY on https://t.co/bUgZbeW2jM!
ORDER 👉https://t.co/oKKyYr7UzK pic.twitter.com/V1xBs7gEm9— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 9, 2017
ITS ALL OVER!! @RicoVerhoeven retains the GLORY heavyweight title! #andSTILL #GLORYRedemption pic.twitter.com/W0sh8y6Fz4
— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) December 9, 2017
A winning moments:
Congratulations @RicoVerhoeven!!! #andSTILL #GLORYRedemption pic.twitter.com/qSsGibqYXW
— GLORY Kickboxing (@GLORY_WS) December 9, 2017
