GLORY, the world’s premier kickboxing league, today announced seven bouts – three GLORY 35 Nice match-ups and four GLORY 35 SuperFight Series match-ups – for the organization’s return to France, taking place at Palais Nikaia on Saturday, Nov. 5.
On the heels of his back-and-forth battle with Robin van Roosmalen, reigning GLORY lightweight champion Sittichai (112-29-5, 30 KO) headlines GLORY 35 Nice, defending the belt against 25-year-old Armenian-Belgian challenger Marat Grigorian (48-9-2, 29 KO). The two met previously at GLORY 28 Paris in March, where the Thai fighter Sittichai won via unanimous decision.
In the co-headline bout, France’s own Zinedine Hameur-Lain (56-13, 35 KO) takes on fellow light heavyweight contender Pavel “The Caiman” Zhuravlev (69-11, 25 KO), representing Ukraine. Following an incredible performance including two knockouts and a tournament win, Hameur-Lain took home both ‘Fighter of the Night’ and ‘Knockout of the Night’ post-fight bonuses at GLORY 32 Virginia in July.
In order to determine the next contender for the GLORY heavyweight title, GLORY 35 Nice will feature a one-night, four-man tournament. In the first of two semifinal match-ups, Surinamese-Dutch Jahfarr Wilnis (29-7-1, 8 KO) meets returning Mladen “The Scorpion Sting” Brestovac (50-11-1, 33 KO) of Croatia. The other semifinal match-up will be announced at a later date, finalizing the tournament.
The announced bouts for GLORY 35 Nice can be found below:
GLORY 35 Nice
Lightweight World Title Headline Bout: Sittichai vs. Marat Grigorian
Heavyweight Tournament Final Bout: Winner of Bout A vs. Winner of Bout B
Light Heavyweight Co-Headline Bout: Zinedine Hameur-Lain vs. Pavel Zhuravlev
Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal Bout B: TBA vs. TBA
Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal Bout A: Jahfarr Wilnis vs. Mladen Brestovac
GLORY 35 SuperFight Series will showcase the unification of GLORY’s light heavyweight titles as champion Artem Vakhitov (16-5, 6 KO) and interim champion Zack “The Black Warrior” Mwekassa (15-3, 13 KO) square off for the undisputed light heavyweight championship.
Russia’s Vakhitov was previously scheduled to defend his belt at GLORY 31 Amsterdam in June, but was unable to compete due to injury. Mwekassa replaced Vakhitov on the card, stepping in against Mourad Bouzidi and capturing the interim title via first-round TKO.
Also on the GLORY 35 SuperFight Series card: French native Karim “Le Felin” Benmansour (46-6-2, 22 KO) battles 23-year-old Dutch prospect Eyevan “Mister Cool” Danenberg (22-4, 11 KO), GLORY’s Super Bantamweight Grand Prix continues with a quarterfinal bout between undefeated Amel Dehby (27-0, 11 KO) of France and Korean muay thai champion Ji-Waen Lee (13-2, 3 KO), and Canadian dynamo Josh Jauncey(25-7, 14 KO) welcomes French newcomer Dylan Salvador (55-10-1, 27 KO) to the GLORY ring.
The announced bouts for GLORY 35 SuperFight Series can be found below:
GLORY 35 SuperFight Series
Light Heavyweight Title Unification Bout: Artem Vakhitov vs. Zack Mwekassa
Welterweight Bout: Karim Benmansour vs. Eyevan Danenberg
Super Bantamweight Bout: Amel Dehby vs. Ji-Waen Lee
Lightweight Bout: Josh Jauncey vs. Dylan Salvador
Additional match-ups for GLORY 35 Nice and GLORY 35 SuperFight Series will be announced shortly.