GLORY 95 took place on Saturday, September 21, at the Arena Zagreb in Croatia, marking the promotion's long-awaited return to Zagreb for the first time in over a decade.
Main Event Rematch
The highly anticipated rematch between Levi Rigters and Bahram Rajabzadeh was spoiled halfway through the third round of a five-round contest when the Azeri fighter landed a blatantly intentional headbutt, opening a cut on Rigters. While Rajabzadeh did not have a point taken from him, a scissor knee from the Dutchman seconds after the action resumed opened a leaking cut above the left eye of the Azeri which ultimately led to an anti-climatic doctor stoppage.
While the fight left fans dissatisfied, Levi Rigters earned himself a shot at Rico Verhoeven again, this time outside of the tournament setting.
The co-main event between Tariq Osaro and Nico Pereira Horta, another Heavyweight clash, was slated to be an exciting matchup, and yet little of note happened during the fight. Osaro took the decision victory but the fight killed the momentum of the show up to that point.
The contest that stole the show came early on the main card, where Vedat Hoduk put on the best performance of his career to defeat a strong Welterweight contender in Arian Sadiković in a rare extra round, in what was the Fight of the Night.
Young Balkan Talents Picked Up by GLORY
This show marked the first time GLORY had been back to Croatia since 2014, and with it came an influx of Balkan talent, an area long neglected by major kickboxing promotions. Perhaps the Next Superstar at Light Heavyweight, Miloš Cvjetićanin destroyed an undefeated top prospect in Jimmy Livinus, dropping him three times in the first round with terrifying power in his right hand. 27-year-old Croatian standout Andrej Kedveš also stole the show with a beatdown of top Lightweight contender Guerric Billet, ending the fight in the third round with seemingly unending volume.
In the prelims, the deep talent pool of the Eastern-Central European amateur ranks is finally being exploited by the European Kickboxing Giant. The highly-touted 23-year-old prospect Vito Košar, fresh off of winning gold at this year's IFMA World Championship against fellow top prospect American Aaron Ortiz, made quick work of his GLORY debut, ending the fight with a few flurries within 2 minutes, while fellow amateur standouts Ivan Bertić and Antonio Krajinović also won their debuts. Caledonian-French prospect Cédric Do, likewise, set himself apart in his long-awaited return to GLORY, winning with a dominant performance.
