One-time GLORY Lightweight title challenger Stoyan Koprivlenski will take on the once-defeated Sorin Căliniuc in the main event of GLORY 89, which will take place at the Burgas Arena in Burgas, Bulgaria on October 7. The meeting will be a rematch of their first encounter, nearly two years ago, when the Romanian fighter was able to win by a rather controversial split decision.
Both fighters will enter the contest on a loss: Koprivlenski suffered two consecutive defeats at the hands of Tyjani Beztati and Kaito Ono, which snapped a five-fight win streak, while Căliniuc suffered his first-ever professional loss in his GLORY debut opposite Arman Hambaryan. Although divisional kingpin Beztati already has next fight sorted – against the winner of the Guerric Billet and Enriko Kehl title eliminator, victory here could position either Koprivlenski or Căliniuc quite close to a championship bout.
The press release by GLORY furthermore stated that "...Bulgaria has a strong community of talented combat sports athletes – half of the GLORY 89 fight card will be a showcase of such talent." Considering talented fighters such as Aleksandar Petrov, Eduard Aleksanyan and Teodor Hristov among a number of others are still unsigned to a major promotion, GLORY 89 has the potential to become a great showcase for the European scene.
