GLORY 39 BRUSSELS takes place this Saturday night at the Vorst National Arena, Brussels. It is five years since GLORY first visited the Belgian capital and so we made sure to come back with a big card.
Two world titles are on the line this Saturday and there are several top contenders in action before we reach the main events. The evening commences with the GLORY 39 SUPERFIGHT SERIES card, headlined by lightweight champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong against Dylan Salvador.
Let's take a look at the matchmaking.
The SUPERFIGHT SERIES 39 card opens with a new landmark for GLORY as we welcome our first Chinese fighter to the organization. Meng Qinghao (11-2-0) has a background in Wushu and San Da and is the first to carry the flag of the Dragon Nation into our ring. He's a sniper for the Chinese Armed Police in his day job, so you can imagine his level of focus, although actually he is also a really nice guy.
San Da is a Chinese style which is like Muay Thai crossed with ShootBoxing â not only can you stand and strike with the opponent, you can also win by throwing the opponent similar to judo. We don't have throws and excessive clinching in GLORY Kickboxing but Quinghao has experience under kickboxing rules already.
Actually he fought in China against Saenchai under kickboxing rules, which is a learning experience for any fighter. He didn't win that fight but not many do against Saenchai! On Saturday he will fight Killian Moulun of France, who is much more on his level than Saenchai was and it seems a good match for his entry into GLORY.
Staying in the lightweight division we have the return of Tyjani Beztati (11-1-0), who is currently the youngest male fighter on the GLORY roster. He had a good performance against a more experienced opponent in December and now he will be tested against a good Belgian fighter.
I feel like Belgium right now is having a moment that Holland had 15 years ago. Their fighters are developing very quickly. There are a lot of junior competitions, so guys who come to the professional level already have twenty, thirty, even forty fights as a junior. There's a lot of competition between the gyms and it was this system that created the really good Dutch guys of previous generations.
Sabri Ben Henia (5-2-1) is a good level and it will not be an easy fight for Byzatati. If he wins this fight then he goes up next time against one of the higher ranked guys in this division. If he loses then that chance passes to Ben Hania, so this is a challenge and important fight for Byztati.
The next fight is welterweight and features Harut Grigorian (43-10-0). He was supposed to fight Karim Benmansour, who is ranked #3, but Benman was ill and so had to be replaced. Pavol Garaj (14-8-0) of Slovakia was available and he has a similar style to Harut, he comes forward and wants to fight, he has a good boxing style.
This will almost surely be a KO fight. It reminds me of when Harut and Maximo Suarez were matched up â two fighters coming forward and looking to bang. It's an attractive fight for spectators and it will be action-packed. Harut is the favorite obviously and if he wins by KO then I think he goes top three and is in the mix either for a title shot or to go against names like Nieky Holzken and Murthel Groenhart.
Next we have Hesdy Gerges (49-18-1); he is a big name, a veteran heavyweight with a lot of experience. Right now he is riding a four-fight losing streak, and this is a very important fight for him.
Chi Lewis-Parry (8-1-0) is still kind of a new guy in the division but he is becoming well-known because he has a really big mouth and he tells everyone what he really thinks of them. He's been calling for a fight with champion Rico Verhoeven since day one with GLORY so we said OK, let's match him with a big name and see what happens. So now he has Hesdy.
This is such an important fight for Hesdy. If he loses, he loses a little bit of his top name status, it would not be good for his name and his ranking. It is very important for him that he wins and I expect he will win. But you saw him struggling with Guto Inocente, when Hesdy was the favorite, though Guto is a very difficult opponent because of his unorthodox style.
In this fight, on paper if I compare them then I give an 80 per cent I give it Hesdy. But Chi is explosive and has good power in his hands and if he wins then he belongs to the top six and can challenge some more big names.
In the co-main event we have lightweight contender Marat Grigorian (48-10-2). He was supposed to face Hysni Beqiri but there was a last-minute change of opponent as Hysni got injured. Now he will face Anton Petrov (10-6-0), who comes from Bulgaria but is based in Copenhagen with Niclas Larsen at Mikenta Gym.
It's a good fight; both fighters have a forward-pressure style with a lot of variety but Grigorian I think has the power advantage, like he does against most lightweights. It's a big opportunity for Petrov, he's been waiting for a chance with GLORY and if he can beat Marat Grigorian, he enters the division in big style.
Petrov has the speed advantage probably and he also brings a lot of variety and trickiness, he can be irritating, but I think it can be difficult for him to overcome Marat's power and experience. One interesting question though, is how Marat adapts to a new opponent. He is a very focused kind of fighter, he doesn't like changes. That could be an advantage for Petrov.
Finally, the main event. Sitthichai (113-30-5) will defend the lightweight title against Dylan Salvador (49-11-1). This is a very interesting fight. They fought two times before and are 1-1 against each other. Salvador comes with shots from all angles and directions, he is much more varied than Sitthichai, who has limited output but excellent timing and distance.
Sitthichai is powerful for this weight class and he is very efficient. Look what he did to Davit Kiria, a guy who is used to serious karate pain. Sittichai can trap you in his game, make you irritated, so that you want to KO him, but then you get predictable. His timing is key. Mentally he is difficult to fight, because you start feeling like you can't touch him but he can touch you. His kicks wear you down constantly.
Salvador's unorthodoxy can win him the fight and he has confidence from that first win. If there is any guy at the moment who can beat Sitthichai, it's Salvador. He has kind of home soil advantage as well, he is not far from home and in a French-speaking city, if that counts for anything. It only took him six hours to drive here; Sitthichai was on a plane for sixteen.
