In an interview with Vechtsportinfo, held following GLORY 82 which took place this weekend, GLORY matchmaker Robbie Timmers stated that the promotion will have Antonio Plazibat face the reigning Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven next. Timmers commented on this earlier in the week as well, while on the AD's 'In de Ring' podcast, stating that while Overeem seems to make the most sense as Verhoeven's next opponent, it is not yet a sure thing.
"I'm not going to confirm anything. If you've seen Alistair's win over Badr, he's proven to be a good contender. But we also have Plazibat saying he's been ranked first for a long time. We have to see his fight this Saturday first. If he wins, he could definitely be an option".
Antonio Plazibat is currently on a four-fight knockout streak and has won seven of his eight fights with the promotion, which has earned him the No. 1 spot in the official GLORY heavyweight rankings. The Croatian Heavyweight has been vocal in calling out Verhoeven, having asked for a fight with the champion following his victories over former GLORY title challengers Benjamin Adegbuyi and Tarik Khbabez, as well as after his most recent stoppage victory over Raul Cătinaș.
Promotional newcomer Alistair Overeem also spoke on this topic last month, in an October 19 appearance on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour. According to the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix winner, the promotion plans to have him face Verhoeven at the GelreDome sometime in early 2023. The pair was expected to face each other at Collision 3 on October 23, 2021, but the bout was later scrapped as Overeem withdrew with an injury and was replaced by Jamal Ben Saddik. Although the former UFC fighter has been able to recover from this injury and notch his first kickboxing victory in nearly ten years, another apparent roadblock has taken shape yesterday, as he tested positive for a banned substance. Unless his B sample comes out clean, it seems unlikely that the Dutch Combat Sports Authority will allow the fight to proceed in the Netherlands.
