GLORY’s year-end showcase was one to remember as Antonio Plazibat and Errol Zimmerman advanced to the Last Heavyweight Standing Final. Also on the card, Light Heavyweight and Welterweight saw tournament action to set up a blockbuster 2026 as Milos Cvjeticanin took on Michael Boapeah and Endy Semeleer took on Teodor Hristov.
Plazibat vs. Mahieddine
After suffering a broken arm in the GLORY ring last time out, Croatia’s Antonio Plazibat looked to put two years of hurt behind him when he completed his trilogy match with Nordine Mahieddine.
In a round of two halves, everything changed with a single punch. The first 90 seconds were largely both men feeling each other out, then a seemingly innocuous punch caused a delayed reaction in Mahieddine and sent him to the canvas. After getting off the canvas just in time, the Algerian burst into life and forced a prolonged wild exchange that could have seen either man hit the canvas.
The second round saw Plazibat work his low kicks to send Mahieddine to the canvas twice although referee Youssef Akhnikh scored neither of them as knockdowns. Ring rust looked to play a role in the fight as it went on, with both men breathing heavy as the fight went on, however both men landed heavily and made each other work to see the final bell.
The scorecards were unanimous with all five judges scoring the fight for Antonio Plazibat who not only vanquishes his demons but seals the final place in the Last Heavyweight Standing Finals in February.
Zimmerman vs. Simon
Errol Zimmerman returned to the GLORY ring for the first time in ten years as he took on former powerlifter and GLORY debutante Alex Simon.
In a shock to very few, Zimmerman’s power and experience was too much for the Aussie strongman, a quick knee into a right hand sent the power lifter to the canvas, before the same combination sent him back down to the canvas and sent Zimmerman to the Last Heavyweight Standing Final. One of GLORY's more questionable matchmaking decisions, pitting a 100-fight veteran against an opponent with just a single professional win.
The only thing unexpected about this fight came during the post-fight interview. Zimmerman made it clear his intentions were to return to the ring against old rival Rico Verhoeven with whom he has a long history, but since Verhoeven unexpectantly departed from GLORY this leaves Zimmerman's future in an unusual limbo.
Petchpanomrung vs. Wosik
The dominant southpaw champion Petchpanomrung had an easy night at the office once again, dominating Denis Wosik in the clinch for much of the fight whenever the German fighter would force his way and crash to get past the kicks and knees of the Thai fighter, winning a wide, but uneventful unanimous decision victory.
Vidales vs. Aasila
On the opposite end of the spectrum was the other Featherweight tournament bout, as Abraham Vidales and Achraf Aasila delivered one of the most action-packed fights of the year. Despite being visibly smaller, Aasila dropped Vidales twice early with heavy counter-shots.
Vidales, however, absorbed the damage and relentlessly walked him down for the remainder of the fight, scoring multiple knockdowns of his own and repeatedly hurting Aasila on his way to a unanimous decision.
Cvjeticanin vs. Caceres
Milos made quick work of Cem in their rematch. Similar to their first encounter, the Serbian finished the fight in the first round, this time removing all doubt by catching Caceres against the ropes with a left hook in a close up pocket exchange. Proving that the first round finish in their first encounter was more than just a fluke knee.
Boapeah vs. Fernandes
Boapeah kept Fernandes on the ropes for most of the first round, intelligently pressuring behind his low kicks, tight guard, and disciplined jab to the body.
Fernandes did well staying calm and moving on the back foot, finding more success in the second round landing to the head of Boapeah. Despite Boapeah being more offensively varied to the body with his strikes and not relying on calf kicks like he has been recently, the Ghanaian found less success hurting the fighter from Portugal, racking up noticeable damage to his face and having more of a difficult outing than many expected against the newcomer, although seemingly rocking the Portuguese fighter late into the penultimate round.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL
The Light Heavyweight final saw Milos Cvjeticanin, who booked his place in the Last Heavyweight Standing Final in October, face off against former Middleweight title challenger Michael Boapeah. Cvjeticanin booked his spot in the final with a first round knockout of old rival Cem Caceres], whilst Boapeah advanced by defeating Iuri Fernandes by unanimous decision.
Despite going the full three round distance in his opening round matchup, Boapeah looked fresh across the first two rounds, utilising his high guard to prevent the Serbian from landing anything clean. A series of three low blows from Boapeah disrupted the second round but each went unpunished by the referee Edward Strijkert.
Boapeah’s superb conditioning saw him continue to shut down Cvjeticanin well into the third round, with his chopping low kicks and sneaky uppercuts providing a puzzle that his opponent could not answer. In an impassioned post-fight interview, Boapeah gave us a hint as to what he might be looking for in 2026
“I beat Milos he is in the Heavyweight tournament; I need 500K man put me in the Heavyweight tournament let me show them what I’m about”.
Landman vs. Ouzgni
The young Landman made quick work of Ouzgni, putting a quick end to the Moroccan’s first return to the ring since 2024 in the first round with a quick KO off of a flurry of hooks to press Ouzgni into the corner, seemingly breaking or injuring the jaw of the Moroccan with one of his massive left hooks.
Semeleer vs. Sno
The former champ Semeleer made a quick turnaround to attend this Welterweight tournament, having last fought in November outside of GLORY, against the loudmouthed and electric Sno.
Sno started fast, pressuring Semeleer with unorthodox stance switching and spinning attacks to force the former champion to fight intelligently off the backfoot with his slick pivots, front kicks, and counter punches.
The less experienced fighter was completely outclassed by the former champion, getting completely outboxed and outworked at range whenever he threw up his high guard to pressure. Sno had brief success in the second round with an unorthodox spinning backfist that seemed to rock Semeleer. The former champ finally found his opening after winning most of the exchanges in the fight, dropping Sno in the third round with a knee after eating a spinning back kick to the body.
Hristov vs. Kwasi
Kwasi’s unorthodox pressure style and large frame kept Hristov bouncing on the backfoot for most of the fight, making for a very frantic, but uneventful first round with both fighters not able to land much substantial offence.
The heavy pressure of the champion forced the former title challenger to move constantly to stay off the ropes, but also caused the champ to smother his own work when crashing in, making for a very closely contested fight.
Chico seemingly dropped Hristov with a jab early into the second round, with the ref ruling it as a slip instead of a knockdown and Hristov winning on all judges’ scorecards going into the third and ultimately winning his rematch against the champ.
WELTERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL
An early shock at Welterweight saw current champion Chico Kwasi defeated in the semi-finals by Bulgaria’s Teodor Hristov, whilst former champion Endy Semeleer comfortably defeated Don Sno on the opposite side of the bracket to find himself in the tournament final.
In a performance befitting of a champion, Endy Semeleer showed why he was able to capture the Welterweight title as he defeated Hristov by unanimous decision. The man from Curacao looked as good as ever, out landing and outworking his Bulgarian opponent over three rounds. Despite sporting what appeared to be an injured leg early into the first round, Hristov kept the fight competitive and forced Semeleer to engage, rather than looking for a way out of the fight.
Looking ahead to 2026, it is likely we will see Chico Kwasi defend his Welterweight title against the newly minted tournament champion, a rematch that will see Semeleer look to avenge his first loss inside the Glory ropes.
As of right now he is due to fight Anis Bouzid in February, whatever happens after that only time will tell.
