In 2009, three-time K-1 World Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Remy Bonjasky (99-12, 36 KO’s) was in his prime. In the preceding three years only fellow legends Peter Aerts and Semmy Schilt had been able to take a win over him.
But a recurring eye problem was bothering him and, following surgery for a detached retina, he retired on medical advice. He spent three years on the sidelines but the competitive fires never went away and when doctors subsequently cleared him for competition he went straight to GLORY to discuss his return.
It took place in October 2012 at GLORY 2 BRUSSELS. He faced the top Brazilian heavyweight Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (38-11-1, 24 KO’s), a former training partner of Peter Aerts and now a key sparring partner for the former PRIDE and UFC (interim) heavyweight champion Antonio ‘Rodrigo’ Nogueira.
Silva had hit the kickboxing headlines earlier that year by giving the former K-1 heavyweight champion Badr Hari a very tough fight and taking him the distance. Silva lost a decision but gained a lot of respect for his performance.
In Brussels he came to prove that he is no respecter of reputations once again, going after Bonjasky from the outset. Silva set a high pace with hard contact, throwing Bonjasky right back in at the deep end and seeking to test whether Bonjasky had gotten soft in his time away from the sport.
The result was a close and action-packed fight which was declared a draw after three rounds. Under GLORY rules, that meant the fight would go to an extra round. Both fighters came out of their corners battered and bruised for a fourth round to determine which of them would walk away with the win.
Today this key fight from the GLORY 2 BRUSSELS card has been released from the archives and you can watch it for free.
GLORY is in the process of unlocking its entire event archive so that fans around the world can watch every fight in the library for free. The process started with GLORY 1 STOCKHOLM last week, continued with GLORY 2 BRUSSELS this week and will move to GLORY 3 ROME next week.
Stay tuned to GloryWorldSeries.com for a wealth of outstanding action from one of the world’s largest fight video libraries.
