Adegbuyi vs Gerges official for Superfight Series clash at GLORY 18

A heavyweight clash between two top contenders is today confirmed for the ‘Superfight Series’ portion of the GLORY 18: RETURN TO GLORY event taking place November 7 in Oklahoma, USA.

The rising Romanian star Benjamin Adegbuyi (17-2, 13 KO’s) will meet the toughest test of his career when he faces former It’s Showtime heavyweight champion Hesdy Gerges (44-13-1, 20 KO’s) in a long-awaited showdown.

“Adegbuyi has attracted a lot of attention since he arrived in GLORY and went 2-0 with two spectacular finishes. Even our heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven has gone on record saying he is a future contender,” says Cor Hemmers, GLORY matchmaker and Head of Talent Operations.

“Gerges needs little introduction to kickboxing fans. He’s a former champion of a very tough league and he is 2-1 in GLORY and riding a two-fight win streak. His last fight really showed that he has entered his prime now.”

In his last outing Gerges took apart the young Brazilian prospect Jhonata Diniz in a performance which married his trademark aggression with clever use of tactics and set-ups, as remarked upon by GLORY commentator Duke Roufus during the live broadcast.

Adegbuyi is a similar package. He outclassed Ukrainian champion Dmytro Bezus as they both made their debut in a March match, then did the same to the very experienced British heavyweight Daniel Sam, a man not easily overwhelmed.

The GLORY runs of Adegbuyi and Gerges have made a clash inevitable and now is the time. Both have declared respect for each other in recent interviews but have also expressed a desire to fight. Both have also stated that they expect to end the fight inside the distance.

With the winner likely moving forward to a heavyweight title shot against Verhoeven, this is the most important match of their careers to date. They will leave it all on the line when they enter the ring at the Grand Casino, Shawnee, Oklahoma on Saturday November 7.

GLORY 18’s main card airs live on SPIKE TV from 9pm ET while the ‘Superfight Series’ bouts air on tape-delay in more than 40 territories around the world, before being released free-to-air via the GLORY website a few days later.