GLORY 100 took place at the Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands.
GLORY 100 is now officially concluded! A packed crowd at the Rotterdam Ahoy witnessed nearly nine hours of thrilling kickboxing action, featuring 19 bouts and multiple titles on the line. The night delivered moments of breakthrough performances and dramatic knockouts, showcasing the sport memorably at one of GLORY`s significant events to date.
Heavyweight Title Fight
Kickboxing king Rico Verhoeven delivered a dominant performance, securing a clean sweep in his 13th consecutive title defense. He dictated the pace throughout five rounds against former light heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov. While Vakhitov showed resilience in his GLORY return, he struggled to match Verhoeven’s volume, pressure, and significant size advantage (giving up nearly 20 kilograms).
Verhoeven systematically broke down Vakhitov, targeting the legs and body while landing sharp jabs and uppercuts to the head. The defending champion outstruck Vakhitov in nearly every exchange, cruising to a unanimous decision victory with all five judges scoring it 50-45.
“He goes downstairs, upstairs, to the body, to the head, so it’s so freaking hard—but believe me, this guy is going to be the next light heavyweight champion again, 100 percent,” Verhoeven stated post-fight, acknowledging Vakhitov’s effort.
It remains uncertain whether Vakhitov will return to the light heavyweight division or compete in the upcoming Last Heavyweight Champion tournament, potentially leading to another clash with Verhoeven.
Light Heavyweight Title Fight
Sergej Maslobojev opened the first round by attacking Tarik Khbabez’s legs, setting up his punches with precise low kicks against the Moroccan tank. Khbabez found some success pressing Maslobojev against the ropes and wildly swinging hooks, while Maslobojev maintained a tight guard. Maslobojev had a fairly dominant round, landing more frequently and accurately.
Champion Khbabez performed better in the second round, using constant forward pressure to smother Maslobojev’s range attacks, though this also limited his own offense.
Whenever the challenger stepped back or angled off, he landed cleaner strikes, countering Khbabez’s punches and piercing his guard with straight punches. The third round followed a similar pattern, with Khbabez landing more effectively when Maslobojev retreated. However, the damage from the leg kicks began to accumulate, making Khbabez a stationary target at distance where he couldn`t alleviate pressure on his legs.
Ultimately, the cumulative damage to Khbabez`s head, body, and legs was too much. Three knockdowns resulting from leg kicks and body shots secured the victory and title via stoppage for the highly technical Lithuanian, Sergej Maslobojev, in the fourth round.
Middleweight Title Fight
Michael Boapeah began cautiously in the first round, moving and following champion Donovan Wisse with a high guard and attempting calf kicks. Wisse was more successful, countering with punches and landing crescent kicks and knees to Boapeah’s body.
Wisse started the second round in a southpaw stance, showing visible damage to his left leg from the challenger’s calf kicks. Boapeah found more success with these kicks whenever Wisse switched back to orthodox, constantly disrupting the champion’s balance.
The third round unfolded similarly. Boapeah’s aggressive inside and outside calf kicks made it difficult for Wisse to establish extended exchanges, although when the champion was in punching range, he landed the cleaner strikes.
The fourth round was closely contested. Boapeah struggled to capitalize on a visibly slowed Wisse, missing big punches, while Wisse had more success countering, hitting Boapeah’s guard, and kneeing the body up close.
The fifth round remained close, with both fighters finding similar success. Boapeah was effective with low kicks, while Wisse found joy with volume punching and close-range work. The fight ultimately went to the champion, Donovan Wisse, via a close-fought split decision, with two judges scoring the bout for Boapeah.
Featherweight Title Fight
Contrary to expectations of a slow start for the champion and a close fight like their previous encounter, the measured southpaw champion was dominant from the outset. The Thai fighter controlled the early rounds against the explosive challenger Trindade.
The first round was tightly contested with few significant strikes, although the champion found some success with his customary left kick to the leg and body. The second round was much more eventful, with Petchpanomrung dropping Trindade twice – first with a body shot and then with a left high kick.
The champion controlled the pace for most of the fight thereafter with his effective left kick and solid defense, preventing the challenger from landing much and stifling Trindade`s offense by attacking his legs and arms.
The Thai champion delivered an absolute masterclass, systematically damaging Trindade`s legs, body, and arms en route to a very lopsided unanimous decision victory. Only one judge awarded even a single round to Trindade.
Heavyweight Tournament Qualifiers: Group 1
Iraj Azizpour and Ionuț Iancu`s semifinal was tentative initially, with both fighters primarily exchanging low kicks. Most significant moments came from Azizpour, though infrequently. In the second round, Iancu hurt Azizpour with a right hand, but the Iranian managed to stay on his feet and defend until the bell. Azizpour gave a clinic in the third against a tired Iancu, using jabs and kicks to secure a split decision. Four judges scored it 29-28 for Azizpour, while one scored it 29-28 for Iancu.
Bouzid started in a southpaw stance to match his opponent and quickly sent Nasipov to the canvas a minute into the first round with a body combination. The Russian recovered strongly after the knockdown, making the rest of the round very close. He carried that momentum into the next two rounds, fighting behind a Philly shell, making himself a difficult target and landing effective long punches.
With the two rounds secured for Nasipov and the knockdown for Bouzid, the fight was declared a draw, leading to an extra sudden-victory round. Nasipov was tired heading into the fourth round, allowing Bouzid to close distance and move past the middle range where Nasipov had been successful. As a result, the younger fighter lost via unanimous decision, sending Bouzid to the group final.
In the Group 1 final, Bouzid adopted an orthodox stance against Azizpour, appearing more fluid with his kicks and punches against the shorter, heavier Iranian. Azizpour`s low guard and Bouzid`s reach allowed the Moroccan to land clean power jabs and right hands against the veteran. Combined with calf kicks, this turned Azizpour into a plodding target. In the third round, whenever Azizpour entered punching range, Bouzid unleashed combinations to push him back. Bouzid won a unanimous decision, advancing to phase 2 of GLORY`s Heavyweight tournament.
Heavyweight Tournament Qualifiers: Group 2
Horta started the match as he typically does: moving forward and absorbing shots on his guard and forehead. He marched George down for much of the fight, switching stances to land southpaw crosses down the middle, close distance on the taller fighter, and force his way into the clinch. There, Horta worked the body and head to wear down his opponent, winning a unanimous decision. This strategy likely helped the fan favorite conserve energy for the tournament final.
Milos and Cem exchanged calf kicks in open space, with Cem seeming to get slightly the better of these exchanges. Milos adjusted by pulling his leg back and checking the kicks, backing Caceres into the corner. The Serbian carefully attacked Caceres, manipulating his guard and ultimately ending the fight with a jumping knee that fractured Caceres` nose, causing a doctor stoppage 2:01 into the first round.
The fight between Horta and Milos was very tightly contested over three rounds, with Horta pressing forward against the much smaller Serbian. Milos landed the cleaner strikes for most of the bout, but the relentless forward pressure and body work of the fan favorite “Big Sexy” won him the fight, aided by a flash knockdown in the second round that wasn`t scored. The Cape Verdean advanced to the second phase of the Heavyweight tournament.
Heavyweight Tournament Qualifiers: Group 3
Kromah delivered a clinic against Nechita, using his size advantage to outgun the Romanian with heavy knees to the body and head, along with long punches, leading to a dominant unanimous decision victory. Kromah outworked Nechita everywhere, effectively fighting against the ropes and from the front foot.
In contrast, the other semifinal ended quickly but was similarly dominant. Fan favorite Bahram rapidly eliminated the bigger Asdren Gashi within a minute of the first round with a flurry of wild hooks.
In typical Bahram fashion, the “Golden Wolf” started aggressively with swings and jumping knees. During these messy exchanges, he hurt Kromah and shoved him to the ground, kneeing him on two separate occasions while Kromah was down. These two grounded knees led to a difficult decision, with officials discussing the appropriate action. They decided to deduct a point from Bahram.
When the fight resumed, Kromah dropped Bahram with a knee to the head at close range and then again with another jumping knee as Bahram swung hooks, stopping the wild “Golden Wolf.” The former Enfusion champion Kromah advanced to the second phase of the heavyweight tournament with a dominant performance.
Heavyweight Tournament Qualifiers: Group 4
The fight started slowly, with both fighters cautious. Gashi guarded up and tried calf kicks, while Osaro stalked and punched at the smaller man’s guard. Two minutes in, Osaro landed a heavy cross after Gashi slipped a jab, resulting in a standing count. The Albanian chose not to continue, ending the night quickly for the Gashi brothers.
The fight between Laidouni and Ben Saddik ended abruptly when Ben Saddik’s right shin split open early in the first round from a checked kick by the smaller Frenchman. For the brief duration the fight lasted, Laidouni was landing well with his southpaw cross. The fight concluded via doctor stoppage in the first round due to Ben Saddik’s shin cut.
Laidouni started very fast, circling frantically against the powerhouse Osaro and successfully evading the massive pressure fighter`s shots for much of the first round. However, Osaro trapped Laidouni against the ropes and dropped him with a right hand late in the round, sending the French fighter face-first to the canvas. He barely beat the count. Laidouni came out frantic in the second round, brawling with Osaro in the corner, which allowed the Nigerian to floor him with a massive stepping left hand, ending the fight in the second round.
Jack Thornley