The world’s leading kickboxing promotion returned with the opening round of its Last Heavyweight Standing Tournament. Big knockouts, shocking upsets, and a certified Sina Karimian moment—it was a night as chaotic as it was compelling.
With the winners drawing their seeding for the next round immediately after their victories, the second-round matchups are already set for GLORY 100, which will feature four one-night tournaments split across two days, June 13 and 14.
BEN SADDIK IN FIREFIGHT AGAINST RISTEA
The main event saw Jamal Ben Saddik return after a stunning knockout over Uku Jürjendal at GLORY 98. His opponent Cristian Ristea had not competed under the GLORY banner since 2023 and was looking to bounce back after losing his last contest against Rade Opacic at SENSHI 23.
Ben Saddik fought very intelligently in the opening stages, not allowing himself to get drawn into a brawl against the younger and faster Ristea. The Romanian attempted to goad “The Goliath” into becoming sloppy, dropping his hands and encouraging the big Moroccan to swing wildly in an attempt to counter. After a brief halt at the start of the second round to inspect a cut on Ben Saddik's shin, the two men threw caution to the wind, winging hooks at each other with fight ending intentions. The final round saw Ben Saddik return to his plan from round one, fighting an educated fight on the outside and refusing to fall into the trap of his scrappy Romanian foe.
The judges had it unanimously for the man from Morocco, who left the arena with a nasty gash on the shin and a future matchup with Frenchman Sofian Laidouni.
RAJABZADEH WITH EXPLOSIVE KNOCKOUT
In the co-main event, Bahram Rajabzadeh looked to begin his journey to tournament redemption as he challenged former K-1 World Grand Prix semi-finalist Brian Douwes.
"The Golden Wolf" has made it to the latter stages of two GLORY tournaments before but never won overall, whereas Douwes looked to get back to winning ways after a stoppage loss to Ahmed Krnjic last time out.
Swarming with hooks and leg kicks from the opening exchange, Rajabzadeh hunted down his veteran Dutch opponent like a man on a mission. All in attendance collectively held their breath as Rajabzadeh crashed hooks into the side of Douwes' head; the Dutch veteran stood bravely in the pocket with his opponent but the power of the man from Azerbaijan was too much.
After three trips to the canvas inside the opening frame, the referee mercifully saved Douwes from his own toughness, and “The Golden Wolf” advanced to the second stage of the Last Heavyweight Standing Tournament.
HORTA SCORES UPSET OVER OPACIC
ONE Championship fighters once again proved to struggle as they stepped onto the GLORY stage, as the highly touted Rade Opacic suffered a crushing knockout loss to Nico Horta. All the more surprising, since “Big Sexy” had only scored three knockouts in his 30-plus fight career. Despite Horta’s unorthodox style, Opacic started strong. He took the opening round after landing a heavy overhand right followed by a flurry of punches. But as the fight progressed, the Serbian standout began to fade under Horta’s relentless pressure.
In the second round, Horta capitalized. A clean one-two sent Opacic crashing into the corner, prompting the referee to wave off the fight and hand Horta the biggest win of his career.
KARIMIAN CONTROVERSY
In a surprise to very few, the match between Sina Karimian and Tomasz Mozny was not without controversy. Karimian, who has two no contests in his last three bouts, was clipped with a light shot by Mozny after a break in action was called by the referee. Not to be outdone by his Slovakian opponent, Karimian responded by landing a clean right hook that dropped Mozny. Unfortunately, it was when the referee called for a break in the action and the fighters to disengage.
After a point deduction and Mozny regaining his composure, the fight continued into the second round which was still littered with fouls. Late strikes and suspected low blows marred what was otherwise a very interesting contest. Mozny’s crisp combinations provided a pathway to a unanimous decision victory; a superman punch into a further three punch combination was the shining moment in a bout the big Slovak won’t soon forget.
As for Karimian, he remains a kickboxing enigma — always an action fighter, whether that action stays within the rules or not.
GLORY 99 RESULTS
Jamal Ben Saddik def. Cristian Ristea – Unanimous Decision
Bahram Rajabzadeh def. Brian Douwes – KO (Three Knockdowns), R1 2:41
Tariq Osaro def. Benjamin Adegbuyi – KO (Referee Stoppage), R1 1:59
Nico Pereira Horta def. Rade Opačić – KO (Punch), R2 2:52
Miloš Cvjetićanin def. Nabil Khachab – Split Decision
Sofian Laïdouni def. Oleg Pryimachov – KO (Punches), R1 1:47
Asadulla Nasipov def. Murat Aygun – Unanimous Decision
Mory Kromah def. Nicolas Wamba – TKO (Leg Injury), R2 1:37
Tomáš Možný def. Sina Karimian – Unanimous Decision
Alin Nechita def. Ahmed Krnjić – Unanimous Decision
Ionut Iancu def. Cihad Kepenek – TKO (Corner Stoppage), R1 3:00
Iraj Azizpour def. Yuri Farcas – KO (Spinning Backfist), R2 1:17
Asdren Gashi def. Nidal Bchiri – Split Decision
Colin George def. Miroslav Vujović – KO (Arm Injury), R2 1:35
Anis Bouzid def. Nathan Cook – KO (Punches), R1 0:28
Luijg Gashi def. Petr Romankevich – Unanimous Decision
