Last Friday, at the weigh-in show for GLORY 92, the matchups for the upcoming Light Heavyweight Grand Prix were drawn. With a lineup consisting of all the top-ranked Light Heavyweights competing in a one-night tournament, the June 8th event will surely be one of the most anticipated GLORY events of this year.
NEW DRAW METHOD
GLORY took a different approach to the drawing ceremony after fans were not happy with the way it was done during the Heavyweight Grand Prix. In the new format all eight fighters have to select a number at random. With the top-ranked fighter picking his number first. The fighter who draws number one will then be placed in the first quarter-final of the night and, more importantly, will have the opportunity to challenge an opponent. The challenged fighter can either accept or reject the fight. If accepted, the match is made. If rejected, an opponent will be chosen at random from all remaining fighters not matched at that point, including the fighter who rejected that same fight earlier.
THE DRAW
Reigning champion Tarik Khbabez (50-10-1, 28 KO) took the first ball and challenged “our French boy” Pascal Toure (20-6, 7 KO). Toure, like all other challenged fighters that Friday afternoon, accepted the fight. Second up to challenge someone was Stefan Latescu (17-2, 8 KO), who called out #1 ranked Donegi Abena (27-10, 7 KO). On the other side of the bracket, Sergej Maslobojev (36-6, 21 KO) will fulfill his longtime wish to fight one of the Stoica brothers as he challenged Bogdan Stoica (58-13, 40 KO). That automatically matched Ibrahim El Bouni (41-9-1, 22 KO) and Bahram Rajabzadeh (67-2, 59 KO) to face off in the last quarter-final. GLORY’s 11th visit to the Rotterdam Ahoy will be kicked off by the reserve bout between Mohamed Amine (29-7, 16 KO) and debutant Cem Caceres (15-1, 12 KO).
With the draw completed, GLORY has finalized the fight card for June 8th. Returning to the ring from a 1-year doping suspension Murat Aygun (32-3, 8 KO) will take on the Romanian rising star Ionut Iancu (28-9, 10 KO) in the co-main event of the evening. Also featured in the event are French prospect Ramy Deghir (6-1, 1 KO) and veteran Iliass Hammouche (34-6, 7 KO), who face each other in a Middleweight bout. Lastly, the Welterweight clash between Soufian Abdelkalek (4-2-1, 2 KO) and Ilyass Chakir (16-4, 6 KO) will round up the Prelims together with the reserve fight for the Grand Prix.
GLORY LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND PRIX
Grand Prix Final
Winner of SF 1 vs. Winner of SF 2
Heavyweight Bout
Murat Aygun (50-10-1, 28 KO) vs. Ionut Iancu (20-6, 7 KO)
Middleweight Bout
Iliass Hammouche (34-6, 7 KO) vs. Ramy Deghir (6-1, 1 KO)
Semi-Final 2
Winner of QF 3 vs. Winner of QF 4
Semi-Final 1
Winner of QF 1 vs. Winner of QF 2
Quarter-Final 4
Ibrahim El Bouni (41-9-1, 22 KO) vs. Bahram Rajabzadeh (67-2, 59 KO)
Quarter-Final 3
Sergej Maslobojev (38-6, 23 KO) vs. Bogdan Stoica (58-14, 40 KO)
Quarter-Final 2
Donegi Abena (27-10, 7 KO) vs. Stefan Latescu (17-2, 8 KO)
Quarter-Final 1
Tarik Khbabez (50-10-1, 28 KO) vs. Pascal Toure (20-6, 7 KO)
PRELIMS
Welterweight Bout
Soufian Abdelkalek (4-2-1, 2 KO) vs. Ilyass Chakir (16-4, 6 KO)
Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout
Mohamed Amine (29-7, 16 KO) vs. Cem Caceres (15-1, 12 KO)
