Glory (kickboxing)
Glory, formerly Glory World Series, is an international kickboxing promotion based in Singapore, which is owned by Pierre Andurand. It is one of the largest kickboxing promotion companies in the world, and features some of the highest-level fighters in the sport on its roster.
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Kickboxing promotion |
Founded | 2012 |
Founder | Pierre Andurand, Scott Rudmann, Total Sports Asia |
Headquarters | 30, Raffles Place, Level 17, Chevron House, Singapore |
Key people | Pierre Andurand (Chairman) Scott Rudmann (Vice-Chairman) Robbie Timmers (Matchmaker & Head of Talent) |
Owner | GSUKCO LIMITED |
Website | www |
Glory produces events worldwide that showcase seven weight divisions (six men's divisions and one women's division). As of 2022, Glory has held over 80 events. The first event was held in 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Background
When K-1 began suffering from extreme financial difficulties in 2011, Total Sports Asia, TSA CEO Marcus Luer, Pierre Andurand, and Scott Rudmann of Nectar Capital attempted to buy the brand. K-1 was instead sold to Mike Kim and EMCOM Entertainment Inc.
In the aftermath, Pierre Andurand, TSA, and the other investors decided to start a brand new kickboxing promotion and acquired United Glory, Golden Glory,[1] and It's Showtime to secure a top event production team and contracts to each promotion's top fighters. Forming the Glory World Series, Pierre Andurand was named Chairman and Scott Rudmann was named vice-chairman.[2] A number of people formerly involved with these three entities event became Glory consultants.[3]
Glory World Series signed most of the world's top kickboxers, such as Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt, Gokhan Saki, Daniel Ghiţă, Albert Kraus, and Giorgio Petrosyan.
History
The company includes a mix of entrepreneurs and senior level executives from different environments.[4] The company's current investors include Yao Capital. Former investors have been Liberty Global, and TwinFocus Capital Partners.[5]
In February 2013, Glory announced that former WWE Executive VP Andrew Whitaker had been hired as the global CEO of Glory Sports International.[6] In August, 2014 Andrew Whitaker moved into an advisory role within GLORY and Jon J. Franklin was appointed as the new CEO.[7]
In 2018, Glory announced that former CEO Jon J. Franklin had moved to the role of Chief Development Officer, and former UFC executive Marshall Zelaznik had been hired as the new CEO.[8]
On May 15, 2020, Glory announced Zelaznik had resigned as Glory CEO.[9]
On May 26, 2020, Glory Sports International went into receivership, and soon after ownership of Glory was transferred to London-based GSUKCO Limited.[10]
Scott Rudmann is as Executive Vice-Chairman running the league since it was taken over by GSUKCO.
Media coverage
In June 2013, after having its first U.S. event in New York, Glory 9: New York on June 22, 2013, Spike TV signed a multi-year agreement to broadcast Glory kickboxing events; their partnership began with Glory 11: Chicago on October 12 of that year. The broadcast deal with Spike was extended in May 2014 to cover 2015.[11]
In February 2016, Glory CEO Jon J. Franklin announced a new multi-year deal with ESPN.[12]
Glory was broadcast on Veronica TV in the Netherlands from July, 2018 to February, 2020.[13][14][15]
Beginning in 2019, Glory initiated a partnership with the UFC for the former's events to be exclusively carried in the U.S by UFC Fight Pass.[16] The first event to be broadcast as part of this partnership was Glory 63: Houston on February 1 and the last event was Glory 75: Utrecht on February 29, 2020.
Events from Glory 76 to Glory 80 Studio were available through pay-per-view.
28 June 2022 Glory announced a multi-year broadcast deal with Videoland in the Netherlands. The deal covers all Glory events starting from Glory 81: Ben Saddik vs. Adegbuyi 2.[17] 16 August 2022 Glory announced a multi-year broadcast deal with Viaplay in Poland.[18][19] 5 October 2022 Glory announced a multi-year broadcast deal with TV3 in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[20]
Glory Rivals
In January 2022 Glory announced a new series of events called Glory Rivals, jointly promoted with Enfusion and RISE.[21] The first Rivals event with Enfusion was scheduled for May 21, 2022, at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium. The event was later cancelled due to the finances of Enfusion's local promoter partner Antwerp Fight Organization catching the attention of Belgian authorities.[22]
Glory Rivals 1 was instead held on June 11, 2022 in Alkmaar, Netherlands. In the main event Luis Tavares defeated Florent Kaouachi by knockout in the third round.[23]
Glory Rivals 2 was held September 17, 2022 in Alkmaar, Netherlands.[24]
Roster
Events
Champions
Current champions
Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | Unlimited | Rico Verhoeven | June 21, 2014 | 10 |
Light Heavyweight | 95 kg (209.4 lb) | Donegi Abena | February 11, 2023 | 0 |
Middleweight | 85 kg (187.4 lb) | Donovan Wisse | September 4, 2021 | 1 |
Welterweight | 77 kg (169.8 lb) | Endy Semeleer | November 19, 2022 | 0 |
Lightweight | 70 kg (154.3 lb) | Tyjani Beztati | September 4, 2021 | 2 |
Featherweight | 65 kg (143.3 lb) | Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao | September 29, 2018 | 5 |
Women's Super Bantamweight | 55 kg (121.3 lb) | Tiffany van Soest | November 22, 2019 | 3 |
Indicates former interim champions.
Indicates current lineal and interim champions.
Glory Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: Unlimited
Glory Light Heavyweight Championship
Weight limit: 95 kg (209.4 lb)
Glory Middleweight Championship
Weight limit: 85 kg (187.4 lb)
Glory Welterweight Championship
Weight limit: 77 kg (169.8 lb)
Glory Lightweight Championship
Weight limit: 70 kg (154.3 lb)
Glory Featherweight Championship
Weight limit: 65 kg (143.3 lb)
Glory Women's Super Bantamweight Championship
Weight limit: 55 kg (121.3 lb)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current (2nd reign) | Tiffany van Soest | Glory 71: Chicago Chicago, USA | November 22, 2019 | 1. def. Aline Pereira at Glory 77: Rotterdam on January 30, 2021 in Rotterdam, Netherlands 2. def. Manazo Kobayashi at Glory 80 on March 19, 2022 in Hasselt, Belgium 3. def. Sarah Moussaddak at Glory: Collision 4 On October 8, 2022 in Arnhem, Netherlands |
4 (2nd reign) | Anissa Meksen | Glory 61: New York New York City, USA | November 2, 2018 | 1. def. Tiffany van Soest at Glory 64: Strasbourg on March 9, 2019 in Strasbourg, France 2. def. Sofia Olofsson at Glory 66: Paris on June 22, 2019 in Paris, France |
3 | Jady Menezes | Glory 56: Denver Broomfield, USA | August 10, 2018 | |
2 | Anissa Meksen | Glory 48: New York New York City, USA | December 1, 2017 | 1. def. Amel Dehby at Glory 53: Lille on May 12, 2018 in Lille, France |
1 | Tiffany van Soest def. Amel Dehby | Glory 36: Oberhausen Oberhausen, Germany | December 10, 2016 | 1. def. Meryem Uslu at Glory 44: Chicago on August 25, 2017 in Hoffman Estates, USA |
Tournament champions
Contender Tournament champions
Qualification Tournament winners
Weight Class | Champion | Runner-up | Event | Date | Tournament Bracket |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 Glory Heavyweight Qualification Tournament | Xavier Vigney | Chi Lewis Parry | Glory 21: San Diego | May 8, 2015 | 2015 Glory Heavyweight Qualification Tournament bracket |
2015 Glory Middleweight Qualification Tournament | Dustin Jacoby | Casey Greene | Glory 23: Las Vegas | August 7, 2015 | 2015 Glory Middleweight Qualification Tournament bracket |
2016 Glory Welterweight Qualification Tournament | Richard Abraham | Francois Ambang | Glory 30: Los Angeles | May 13, 2016 | 2016 Glory Welterweight Qualification Tournament bracket |
2017 Glory Featherweight Qualification Tournament | Chenglong Zhang | Masaya Kubo | Glory 46: China | October 14, 2017 | 2017 Glory Featherweight Qualification Tournament bracket |
2017 Glory Middleweight Qualification Tournament | Robert Thomas | Mike Lemaire | Glory 48: New York | December 1, 2017 | 2017 Middleweight Qualification Tournament bracket |
2018 Glory Lightweight Qualification Tournament | Liu Xu | Wensheng Zhang | Glory 57: Shenzhen | August 25, 2018 | 2018 Glory Lightweight Qualification Tournament bracket |
Road to Glory Tournament champions
Weight Class | Champion | Runner-up | Event | Date | Tournament Bracket |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Road to Glory USA 95 kg Tournament | Dustin Jacoby | Brian Collette | Road to Glory USA 95 kg Tournament | February 2, 2013 | |
Road to Glory USA 85 kg Tournament | Mike Lemaire | Eddie Walker | Road to Glory USA 85 kg Tournament | February 9, 2013 | |
Road to Glory Japan 65 kg Tournament | Masaaki Noiri | Yuki | Road to Glory Japan 65 kg Tournament | March 10, 2013 | |
Road to Glory USA 77 kg Tournament | Francois Ambang | Brett Hlavacek | Road to Glory USA 77 kg Tournament | March 22, 2013 | |
Road to Glory Japan 85 kg Tournament | Kengo Shimizu | Magnum Sakai | Road to Glory Japan 85 kg Tournament | May 3, 2013 | |
Road to Glory USA 70 kg Tournament | Michael Mananquil | Troy Sheridan | 2013 Road to Glory USA 70 kg Tournament | May 11, 2013 | |
Road to Glory USA Heavyweight Tournament | Xavier Vigney | Maurice Green | Road to Glory USA Heavyweight Tournament | June 14, 2013 | |
Road to Glory UK 65 kg Tournament | Mo Abdurahman | Bailey Sugden | Road to Glory UK 65 kg Tournament | March 11, 2017 |
Multi-division champions
Fighters who have won championships in multiple weight classes (excluding tournament champions).
- Robin van Roosmalen - Won Glory Lightweight Championship on November 7, 2014, then Glory Featherweight Championship on October 21, 2016.
- Alex Pereira - Won Glory Middleweight Championship on October 14, 2017, then Glory Light Heavyweight Championship on January 30, 2021.
Notable fighters
Featherweight
Lightweight
- Chingiz Allazov
- Dzhabar Askerov
- Shemsi Beqiri
- Alessandro Campagna
- Sanny Dahlbeck
- Johann Fauveau
- Marat Grigorian
- Hinata
- Ky Hollenbeck
- Davit Kiria
- Albert Kraus
- Anatoly Moiseev
- Steve Moxon
- Giorgio Petrosyan
- Łukasz Pławecki
- Andy Ristie
- Robin van Roosmalen
- Dylan Salvador
- Simón Santana
- Yoshihiro Sato
- Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong
- Warren Stevelmans
- Jordan Watson
- Bruno Gazani
Welterweight
- Marc de Bonte
- Roberto Cocco
- Raymond Daniels
- Murat Direkçi
- Cedric Doumbe
- Karim Ghajji
- Harut Grigorian
- Murthel Groenhart
- Nieky Holzken
- Paweł Jędrzejczyk
- Karapet Karapetyan
- Yoann Kongolo
- Artur Kyshenko
- Yohan Lidon
- Thiago Michel
- Alim Nabiev
- Antoine Pinto
- Thongchai Sitsongpeenong
- Alexander Stetsurenko
- Chad Sugden
- Alex Tobiasson Harris
- Joseph Valtellini
Middleweight
- Israel Adesanya
- Wayne Barrett
- Yousri Belgaroui
- Chris Camozzi
- Dustin Jacoby
- Artem Levin
- Melvin Manhoef
- Simon Marcus
- L'houcine Ouzgni
- Sahak Parparyan
- Alex Pereira
- Agron Preteni
- Karl Roberson
- Joe Schilling
- Kengo Shimizu
- Bogdan Stoica
- Filip Verlinden
- Steve Wakeling
- Jason Wilnis
- Donovan Wisse
- Amir Zeyada
Light Heavyweight
- Donegi Abena
- Randy Blake
- Mourad Bouzidi
- Saulo Cavalari
- Nathan Corbett
- Abdarhmane Coulibaly
- Michael Duut
- Zinedine Hameur-Lain
- Danyo Ilunga
- Igor Jurković
- Freddy Kemayo
- Steve McKinnon
- Zack Mwekassa
- Nenad Pagonis
- Koichi Pettas
- Gökhan Saki
- Thiago Silva
- Tyrone Spong
- Andrei Stoica
- Stéphane Susperregui
- Luis Tavares
- Makoto Uehara
- Artem Vakhitov
- Pavel Zhuravlev
Heavyweight
- Benjamin Adegbuyi
- Peter Aerts
- Jamal Ben Saddik
- Remy Bonjasky
- Antonio Plazibat
- Mladen Brestovac
- Brian Douwes
- Ben Edwards
- Mirko Filipović
- Hesdy Gerges
- Daniel Ghiţă
- Badr Hari
- Guto Inocente
- Singh Jaideep
- Jérôme Le Banner
- Ismael Londt
- D'Angelo Marshall
- Cătălin Moroșanu
- Alistair Overeem
- Daniel Sam
- Semmy Schilt
- Antônio Silva
- Anderson Silva
- Giannis Stoforidis
- Ewerton Teixeira
- Rico Verhoeven
- Nicolas Wamba
- Jahfarr Wilnis
- Errol Zimmerman