GLORY is back in Brussels this weekend for GLORY 39 BRUSSELS at the Vorst National Arena, the same arena we visited five years ago for GLORY 2.
Headlining this card is a really heated welterweight title fight. There is a lot of bad blood between Cedric Doumé (65-4-1, 39 KO's) and Yoann Kongolo (64-8, 46 KO's), mostly from Kongolo's side as Doumbé has really annoyed him with some things he has said about him.
They fought two times before already and Kongolo won both fights so there's a psychological advantage for him there. It's a lot of pressure for DoumbĂ© â not only that Kongolo has two wins over him but also that he is making his first defense of the belt he won from Nieky Holzken at GLORY COLLISION in December.
They have very different styles. Doumbé is very evasive and has good timing; he likes to counter. Kongolo has good hands, he is also a professional boxer, and he likes to push forwards. If Doumbé can fight the way he did against Holzken, being tricky and fighting from all angles, he will keep his title.
The more Doumbé can irritate Kongolo the better it is for him. This sport is fighting but it's not about being angry, because if you let your emotions get the better of you then it's like a mental block on you. Kongolo needs to stay focused.
In the co-main event, two heavyweight contenders, Jamal Ben Saddik (31-5, 26 KO's) from Belgium and Guto Inocente (33-7-0, 17 KO's) from Brazil.
Ben Saddik has been on a hard road in the past two years. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and after the first treatment it came back a second time so they ended up removing his thyroid, which means he now needs medication regularly. But he has battled through it and he is good now, he is checked every month by doctors in Belgium and he is totally fit for top-level sport.
He's had a tough life but I think it has all made him stronger. If you think of it, all the time he has had that going on â and other things previously â he was fighting more experienced guys and beating them. I expect to see things from him this year.
Ben Saddik is 130kg (290lbs) guy so sometimes not as technical as the smaller heavyweights but he only has to hit you once and you are finished. He has very dangerous power, like we saw in 2011 when he stopped Rico Verhoeven. These days Rico is the GLORY champion and if Ben Saddik wins here he can find himself in line for a title shot and a rematch with Rico.
Inocente had a big test against Hesdy Gerges and he came through that, Hesdy couldn't shut him down. He has a very difficult style, moving a lot , switch-hitting, throwing shots from all angles, back kicks, spin kicks, moving in and out â he is very unorthodox.
I do think he clinches too much and that has to stop, that's not suitable for GLORY fights and he will lose points for it and maybe opportunities. He is not an easy opponent for anyone because of that unusual style but he also has a weight and reach disadvantage and of course Ben Saddik has a lot more power in his hands.
Opening the card is a four-man Featherweight Contender Tournament, the winner of which will go forward to face Robin van Roosmalen for the vacant featherweight belt later this year.
In the first semi-final, Alexi Ulianov (21-2-1, 7 KO's) of Russia faces Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao from Thailand. This is a debut for Ulianov, he comes to use from the same gym as Artem Vakhitov. He has a good pedigree and has competed at a high level in Russia, for example in the TATNEFT Cup which is a good competition.
It's not easy to make a debut against a guy like Petchpanomrung (154-35-2, 25 KO's). He's very talented and in the future I think he will reach the same heights as Sittichai. He still has to get used to kickboxing rules but he has so much potential. I was very pleased with his debut; this time I would like to see some more boxing from him.
In the second semi-final, former champion Serhiy Adamchuk (33-7, 14 KO's) faces Nafi Bilalovski (17-4, 12 KO's), who fights out of Bulls Gym in Belgium but is originally from Russia. He is trained by Filip Verlinden, who many GLORY fans will know.
Adamchuk's quality is well known. At first he clinched too much but his style improved greatly. I really admire his character in fighting anyone at any time and his focus on training constantly. His task now is to concentrate on getting the title back and that journey starts here with this tournament.
Cor Hemmers
