With the announcement of the Last Heavyweight Standing Tournament and the introduction of ‘Finish Bonuses’, GLORY is setting expectations for their 2025 slate. So I thought to myself: Let's calculate how many knockouts GLORY has produced in 2024. What are the knockout percentages of each division, and does Heavyweight indeed lack in knockouts compared to others? I took the effort, so you don’t have to.
Many were taken by surprise when GLORY announced the Last Heavyweight Standing tournament—an obvious callback to the golden era of kickboxing in the '90s and early 2000s. The announcement received a mixed response from fans. GLORY's heavyweight division has been a frequent target of criticism in recent years. While there are several reasons for this, one of the biggest complaints is the supposed lack of knockouts. But is that criticism fair? Let’s take a closer look at every knockout GLORY has produced in 2024.
TOTAL AMOUNT OF GLORY KNOCKOUTS COMPARED TO FIGHTS IN 2024
I looked at every event and fight that GLORY had to offer in 2024. That includes major crossover event GLORY x RISE Featherweight Grand Prix, but I only counted the Grand Prix fights. Let's take a look at the numbers. Last year GLORY produced a total of 104 fights spread across 10 events (including Lightweight and Catchweight). 33 fights ended early, either a knockout, technical knockout, doctor stoppage or corner stoppage, 67 by decision including draws and 4 by injury (not as a result of a strike). For those who are good at mental arithmetic; GLORY had an overall knockout percentage of 31,73% in 2024.
Whether that’s a lot or a little—I’ll leave that up to you. But things get more interesting when we dive deeper into the numbers. So, is GLORY making a smart move by focusing on the heavyweight division when it comes to knockouts?
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS FOR EACH DIVISION
I’ll start with the division with the lowest percentage of knockouts and we'll work our way up, but before we do, I want to mention the Lightweight division.
LIGHTWEIGHT / 70 KG
Although GLORY officially dropped the division, there were some really fun 70 kg fights in 2024. In fact, 2 of 3 fights in the Lightweight division ended by knockout. Even without an official division, fighters like Andrej Kedves still deserve some credit for their craft.
MIDDLEWEIGHT / 85 KG
The Middleweight division had the most disappointing year in regards of stoppages. Maybe even the worst in GLORY history. Only 1 fight in 2024 ended in a knockout. This occurred during GLORY 95 in Zagreb where Croatia's own Vito Košar defeated Aleksandar Janković by TKO (3 knockdowns in 1 round). With only 14 fights in the Middleweight division, the KO percentage stops at 7,14%. This is a far-cry from the division’s former glory, when former GLORY Middleweight champion Alex Pereira reigned supreme.
WELTERWEIGHT / 77 KG
Arguably one of the more entertaining divisions in GLORY, the Welterweight division doesn't impress in regards of knockouts. Interesting considering its history of KO artists as its champions, such as Cedric Doumbé, Murthel Groenhart and Nieky Holzken. 25% of the 20 divisional fights have ended in a knockout. There was no stand-out in regards of knockouts, but current champion Chico Kwasi impressed when he knocked out former undefeated champion Endy Semeleer.
FEATHERWEIGHT / 65 KG
Globally, this might be the most exciting division right now. While top talent has been signed across various promotions, GLORY benefits from a strong relationship with the Japanese organization RISE. Some GLORY fighters have been allowed to compete in RISE, but for this analysis, I only counted fights that took place within GLORY or in co-promoted events, such as the 65kg Grand Prix. Looking at the numbers, this division’s knockout ratio is approaching 30%.
Featherweight produced 5 knockouts (29,41 %) while 12 fights ended by decision, including the Beyond Kickboxing 2024 Knockout of the Year: Miguel Trindade's over former RISE champion Kento Haraguchi in the quarterfinals of the Featherweight Grand Prix!
HEAVYWEIGHT / +95 KG
This may come as a surprise, but although the Heavyweight division has met with a lot of criticism in regard to the lack of knockouts, the division had the second highest number of knockouts. Let’s take a look at the numbers. In 2024 there have been 23 heavyweight fights. Of those fights 8 ended by KO. In other words a knockout percentage of 34,78%. Which is slightly higher than the average of the promotional year. The most important player of the division was Dutchman Levi Rigters. Defeating Uku Jürjendal and Bahram Rajabzadeh by technical knockout and getting stopped in the Heavyweight Grand Prix final at the hands of divisional king Rico Verhoeven.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT / 95 KG
This probably won’t come as a surprise, but the light heavyweight division had the highest knockout rate in GLORY’s 2024 campaign. Not only does it have the highest percentage of knockouts, but it also had the most amount of knockouts. With an incredible 12 knockouts in of 22 fights, the 95 kg division had a whopping 54,55% knockout ratio! Of course, a lot of credit goes to fan favorite Bahram Rajabzadeh who never shies away from a fight. He won 4 by knockout and was on the receiving and of a technical knockout, which makes him a valuable player for GLORY. Still, even without 'The Golden Wolf’, the division had a great year of knockouts.
Not only did the light heavyweight division have the highest knockout percentage, but it also delivered the most knockouts overall. With an impressive 12 knockouts in 22 fights, the 95 kg division boasted a staggering 54.55% knockout ratio!
A significant part of that success can be credited to fan favorite Bahram Rajabzadeh. He scored four knockouts and was on the receiving end of a technical knockout, making him a key figure in GLORY. However, even without The Golden Wolf, the division had an outstanding year for knockouts.
OVERVIEW OF GLORY KNOCKOUTS IN 2024
| DIVISION | FIGHTS | DEC | (T)KO | (T)KO % | INJURY |
| Heavyweight | 23 | 14 | 8 | 34,78% | 1 |
| Light Heavyweight | 22 | 9 | 12 | 54,55% | 1 |
| Middleweight | 14 | 12 | 1 | 7,14% | 1 |
| Welterweight | 20 | 15 | 5 | 25% | 0 |
| Lightweight | 3 | 1 | 2 | 66,67% | 0 |
| Featherweight | 17 | 12 | 5 | 29,41% | 0 |
| Catchweight | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0,00% | 1 |
| TOTAL | 104 | 67 | 33 | 31,73% | 4 |
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, while GLORY's average knockout percentage in 2024 wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t particularly impressive either—especially considering that the light heavyweight division carried much of the load.
With that in mind, I expected GLORY to double down on the light heavyweight division. That’s why their decision to shift focus to the heavyweight division in 2025 took fans, fighters, and coaches alike by surprise. Sure, the heavyweight numbers aren’t as bad as some claim, but given the talent spread across other divisions, I anticipated a different strategy.
To boost knockout rates in 2025, GLORY introduced the GLORY Finish Bonus. While the promotion hasn’t disclosed the exact amount, this added incentive is sure to put a smile on the faces of both fans and fighters.
