After nearly a year of action and intrigue, the GLORY Last Heavyweight Standing tournament concluded without a final due to injury, as Mory Kromah emerged as the new heavyweight king of the world.
Mohammed Hamdi vs. Emin Ozer
Mohammed Hamdi won an impressive three round decision over top Turkish prospect Emin Ozer.
The Moroccan had an excellent game plan as he dictated where the fight took place from the opening bell, closing the distance on his taller opponent and working the body and head with hooks.
A liver shot dropped Ozer in the first round and looked to have a lasting impact as the taller man struggled to impose his size on his Moroccan foe.
In only his third professional fight Ozer gave a good account of himself despite the loss, plenty to learn for this young prospect who will definitely be back in the GLORY ring.
QUARTER FINALS HIGHLIGHTS
The opening match of the tournament saw Anis Bouzid survive an early scare to overcome Errol Zimmerman by unanimous decision. “The Bonecrusher” landed a huge combination in the first round to wobble his Moroccan opponent but that was the best it would get for the old veteran, whose body could barely hold on to the young man’s brutal bodywork.
Huge drama in the second match, Milos Cvjeticanin dropped Sofian Laidouni in the first with a stabbing front kick but in the process appeared to injure his toe.
The injury would send him down to the canvas and then over to the doctor who had to put the dislocated toe back into its socket. He recovered superbly as he dropped Laidouni with a picture-perfect counter right on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
The scrappiest of the four opening bouts saw Mory Kromah defeat Michael Boapeah over three rounds. Kromah closed the distance with brutal knees up the middle forcing his opponent to rely on big overhands to score. The fight was marred by extensive warnings from referee Edward Strijkert who attempted to break up the many clinches exchanged by both men.
To end the opening round, Tariq Osaro made a statement of intent by continuing his 100% tournament knockout streak, when he vanquished Nidal Bchiri in the second round with a series of right hands. Bchiri damaged Cookies leg with calf kicks before the big Nigerian landed a piston right hand which spun his opponent round before a final right ended the night once and for all.
SEMI FINAL 1: Anis Bouzid vs. Milos Cvjeticanin
After being patched up by the doctors, Milos Cvjeticanin entered the semi final with Anis Bouzid without his full range of movement, but a counter left hand sent the Moroccan to the canvas with seconds to go in the opening round.
Spurred on by being knocked down in the first, Bouzid continued to work hard in the second, trapping his Serbian opponent in the corner and unloading a brutal combination that would have sent lesser men down.
With the fight hanging in the balance both men gave everything they had in the third round, with gas tanks low and emotions high they swung for the fences and left everything in the ring.
By majority decision the judges gave the fight to Cvjeticanin, the wounded soldier battles on to reach the final.
SEMI FINAL 2: Mory Kromah vs. Tariq Osaro
Despite being promised the fight of the year it was anything but in the second semi-final between Tariq Osaro and Mory Kromah, where a grinding fight saw both men tired after three rounds.
Kromah’s plan was clearly to stay on his toes and pick apart the bigger man from the outside whereas “Cookie” looked to stand firm and impose his size advantage on the former Light-Heavyweight.
The activity of Kromah paid dividends as he wore the bigger man down over the course of three rounds, as he stopped Osaro’s tournament knockout streak.
All five judges gave the fight to Kromah who moved on to the finals, Osaro will no doubt be disappointed to exit the tournament in such a fashion as he looks to go one step further in the next Heavyweight tournament later this year.
Bahram Rajabzadeh vs Cristian Ristea
Bahram Rajabzadeh was always going to start fast in his fight with Cristian Ristea, but even he was probably surprised at how fast the fight went when all was said and done.
Within 15 seconds of the opening round the fight was done and dusted, as Rajabzadeh returned from his short retirement to slay “The Gladiator” and put himself in poll position for another title shot.
“The Golden Wolf” exploded into action initially landing a calf kick that sent his opponent across the canvas before a devastating combination of hooks sent his opponent to the canvas.
The official time was 31 seconds into the opening round and the fight was over, once again Bahram Rajabzadeh proved he is must see TV.
Final: Mory Kromah vs The Kickboxing Gods
After battling through two fights with a broken toe, Milos Cvjeticanin was unfortunately not cleared by the doctors to fight in the final of the Last Heavyweight Standing Tournament against Mory Kromah.
In a shocking turn of events, both reserve fighters declined the matchup, leaving “The Black Ghost” without an opponent and by default the winner of the tournament. A baffling decision, given that 500,000€ and GLORY gold were on the line.
A bittersweet moment for everyone but especially for Kromah, who was looking to silence all doubt that he was the best fighter in the tournament, however now those questions will remain unanswered for the time being.
Never doubt the kickboxing gods' sense of humour, after a year of action and build up the new Heavyweight champion is a former Light-Heavyweight contender who takes the belt home by default.
GLORY 105 RESULTS
Bahram Rajabzadeh def. Cristian Ristea via KO, 1R
LAST HEAVYWEIGHT STANDING – SEMI FINALS
Mory Kromah def. Tariq Osaro via unanimous decision
Milos Cvjeticanin def. Anis Bouzid via majority decision
LAST HEAVYWEIGHT STANDING – QUARTER FINALS
Tariq Osaro def. Nidal Bchiri via KO, R2
Mory Kromah def. Michael Boapeah via unanimous decision
Milos Cvjeticanin def. Sofian Laidouni via unanimous decision
Anis Bouzid def. Errol Zimmerman via unanimous decision
SUPERFIGHT SERIES
Hamicha def. Brice Kombou via unanimous decision
Deniz Demirkapu def. Andre Santos via unanimous decision
Alin Nechita def. Luis Tavares via split decision
Serdar Eroglu def. Vasile Amaritei via unanimous decision
Stefan Latescu def. Enrico Pelligrino via unanimous decision
Mohammed Hamdi def. Emin Ozer via unanimous decision
