GLORY 99 Results

GLORY 99 took place under the lights in a sold-out Rotterdam Ahoy arena.

The world’s leading kickboxing promotion returned with the opening round of its Last Heavyweight Standing Tournament. The night was chaotic yet captivating, featuring big knockouts, surprising upsets, and a signature Sina Karimian moment.

The winners drew their seeding for the next round immediately after their fights. The pairings for GLORY 100, which will feature four one-night tournaments held over two days (June 13 and 14), are already set.

BEN SADDIK IN FIERY BATTLE AGAINST RISTEA

In the main event, Jamal Ben Saddik returned following a spectacular knockout over Uku Jürjendal at GLORY 98. His opponent, Cristian Ristea, hadn`t competed under the GLORY banner since 2023 and aimed to bounce back after his loss to Rade Opacic at SENSHI 23. Ben Saddik fought very smartly early on, avoiding getting drawn into a brawl with the younger and faster Ristea. The Romanian attempted to provoke “The Goliath” by dropping his hands and encouraging the Moroccan to swing wildly for counters. After a brief pause in the second round due to a cut on Ben Saddik`s shin, both fighters threw caution to the wind, trading hooks with fight-ending intent. In the final round, Ben Saddik reverted to his round-one strategy, fighting a calculated fight from the outside and refusing to fall into his opponent`s scrappy trap.

The judges unanimously scored the fight for the Moroccan, who left the arena with a nasty gash on his shin and a future matchup against Frenchman Sofian Laidouni.

RAJABZADEH DELIVERS EXPLOSIVE KNOCKOUT

In the co-main event, Bahram Rajabzadeh began his tournament redemption journey by challenging former K-1 World Grand Prix semi-finalist Brian Douwes. “The Golden Wolf” had reached the later stages of two GLORY tournaments before but never won, while Douwes looked to return to winning ways after a stoppage loss to Ahmed Krnjic last time out.

Rajabzadeh swarmed his veteran Dutch opponent with hooks and leg kicks from the opening exchange, like a man on a mission. Everyone in attendance held their breath as Rajabzadeh landed heavy hooks to the side of Douwes` head; the Dutch veteran stood bravely in the pocket, but the power of the fighter from Azerbaijan was overwhelming. After three knockdowns in the first round, the referee mercifully saved Douwes from his own toughness, and “The Golden Wolf” advanced to the second stage of the Last Heavyweight Standing Tournament.

HORTA SCORES UPSET OVER OPACIC

ONE Championship fighters again seemed to struggle on the GLORY stage, as the highly-regarded Rade Opacic suffered a crushing knockout loss to Nico Horta. This was especially surprising given that “Big Sexy” had only three knockouts in his 30+ fight career. Despite Horta`s unorthodox style, Opacic started strong, taking the first round after landing a heavy overhand right followed by a flurry. But as the fight wore on, the Serbian standout began to fade under Horta`s relentless pressure.

In the second round, Horta capitalized. A clean one-two sent Opacic crashing into the corner, prompting the referee to wave off the fight and secure Horta the biggest win of his career.

KARIMIAN CONTROVERSY

To the surprise of few, the match between Sina Karimian and Tomasz Mozny was not without controversy. Karimian, who has two no contests in his last three bouts, was lightly struck by Mozny after the referee called a break. Not to be outdone by his Slovakian opponent, Karimian responded with a clean right hook that dropped Mozny. Unfortunately, this also happened after the referee called for a break and instructed the fighters to disengage.

After a point deduction and Mozny recovering, the fight continued into the second round, which was still marred by fouls. Late strikes and suspected low blows overshadowed what could have been a very interesting contest. Mozny`s crisp combinations paved the way for a unanimous decision victory; a superman punch followed by a three-punch combination was a highlight in a bout the big Slovak won`t soon forget. As for Karimian, he remains a kickboxing enigma—always an action fighter, whether within the rules or not.

GLORY 99 RESULTS

• Jamal Ben Saddik def. Cristian Ristea – Unanimous Decision
• Bahram Rajabzadeh def. Brian Douwes – KO (Three Knockdowns), R1 2:41
• Tariq Osaro def. Benjamin Adegbuyi – KO (Referee Stoppage), R1 1:59
• Nico Pereira Horta def. Rade Opačić – KO (Punch), R2 2:52
• Miloš Cvjetićanin def. Nabil Khachab – Split Decision
• Sofian Laïdouni def. Oleg Pryimachov – KO (Punches), R1 1:47
• Asadulla Nasipov def. Murat Aygun – Unanimous Decision
• Mory Kromah def. Nicolas Wamba – TKO (Leg Injury), R2 1:37
• Tomáš Možný def. Sina Karimian – Unanimous Decision
• Alin Nechita def. Ahmed Krnjić – Unanimous Decision
• Ionut Iancu def. Cihad Kepenek – TKO (Corner Stoppage), R1 3:00
• Iraj Azizpour def. Yuri Farcas – KO (Spinning Backfist), R2 1:17
• Asdren Gashi def. Nidal Bchiri – Split Decision
• Colin George def. Miroslav Vujović – KO (Arm Injury), R2 1:35
• Anis Bouzid def. Nathan Cook – KO (Punches), R1 0:28
• Luijg Gashi def. Petr Romankevich – Unanimous Decision