When Jamal Ben Saddik and Guto Inocente took to the ring for the GLORY 39 BRUSSELS co-main event, it was a classic clash of styles.
Standing at 6'7â (2.05m) and weighing north of 260lbs (118 kilos), Jamal Ben Saddik is, by volume, the biggest fighter on the GLORY roster. That makes him a tough prospect for anybody, even before his newly-found level of fitness is factored in.
Inocente looked a full weight-class smaller than his towering opponent but what he lacks in size he makes up for in mobility, his game being based around constant movement and opportunism in contrast to Ben Saddik's more linear forward-pressure approach.
The fight had a wary opening as both felt each other out. Inocente has a wide arsenal of kicks which come from nowhere and Ben Saddik was concerned that he didn't want to walk onto something as he closed his opponent's space down.
On Inocente's side, the pressure was obvious. Ben Saddik walking forwards constantly meant that he had to keep moving to avoid having his space closed down; Ben Saddik's right hand was primed and ready to be deployed any time Inocente presented the opportunity.
The height difference was clearly an issue for Inocente. His kick-based game has resulted in some spectacular knockouts â for example, his finish of Demoreo Dennis at GLORY 27 â but in this fight left him without much threat to offer, as he could not get the range he needed to reach Ben Saddik's head.
In fact it was Ben Saddik who threw the more impressive kicks in this fight. His right body-kick produced a thunder-crack noise when it landed on Inocente's midriff, which it did on multiple occasions.
The constant movement meant it was difficult for Ben Saddik to pin Inocente down and let his combinations go in the way that he wanted. When he did get Inocente squarely in his sights, the Braziian's fast reflexes had him ducking and swerving under freight-train right hands that would have perhaps ended the fight had they landed when they were intended to.
The more the fight ticked on, the clearer it was that Inocente would not be able to find the way to land the shots he needed. Ben Saddik controlled the space and distance and landed the more significant shots by a large margin.
After three rounds it went to the judges and all three saw it for Ben Saddik, ending Inocente's unbeaten run in GLORY and pushing Ben Saddik closer towards the title shot he so badly wants. Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven was ringside and he entered the ring after the result was announced; he and Ben Saddik got into a staredown and some words were exchanged.
Ben Saddik is one of the few heavyweight fighters to hold a win over Verhoeven, who has completely dominated the division since winning the title at GLORY 17 LOS ANGELES. Back in 2011, Ben Saddik was able to score a second-round stoppage of the young Verhoeven. He thinks he can do it again, Verhoeven strongly disagrees. We will almost certainly find out later this year.
