Mourad Bouzidi was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday this week to take part in a press conference promoting next month’s GLRY 20 DUBAI event and his fight with Pat ‘HD’ Barry.
Local media attended and the press conference was also made electronically open to international media members who could not attend in person. Their inquiries were submitted online as the press conference got underway.
Bouzidi, known as ‘The Silent Power’ because he hides his fierce fighting prowess behind a quiet and humble character, lives in the Netherlands but is of Tunisian heritage. He wants to use his fight in Dubai to help promote kickboxing in the Arabian lands.
“For me it’s a new experience and a great opportunity to show my Arabic audience especially what I bring to a fight,” he said in response to a question from Dave Walsh of Liverkick.com
“And to do that here in such a big event here in Dubai for me is fantastic. My goal is to reach also to the wider Arab audience.”
Michael Stets of MMA Mania wondered if the ’Who’s Who’ of opponents that Bouzidi had faced over the years - Badr Hari, Peter Aerts, Daniel Ghita, and Gokhan Saki among them - meant that there was a chance he could take Barry lightly.
“There is something I learned my entire career: that you never take an opponent lightly, that’s the biggest mistake to make. For me, I take every fight seriously,” Bouzidi responded. “[Barry] is also an experienced fighter, he fought in the UFC, so for me there is no reason to take him lightly.”
Bouzidi recently moved to light-heavyweight but this fight is taking place at heavyweight. Bouzidi will be only just over the heavyweight limit but says he is open to fighting in either division so long as the right opportunities are presented.
“For me I want to get as high [in the rankings] as possible, for me no problem [either way]. I am after titles and big fights, if that means moving up and down the weight, it’s not an issue for me,” he told Fraser Coffeen of Bloody Elbow.
“I am also coming to this fight 95 or 96Kgs (211lbs). So for me, its not a problem [to fight in either weight class].”
Also on the panel were Scott Rudmann, a GLORY board member and company co-founder, and Eisa Al Dah, the United Arab Emirates’ only professional boxer. He will be competing in a welterweight boxing match on the first half of the card and his company EMD Promotions is also GLORY’s local partner in the region.
“We have been looking to partner with a big brand to bring it to Dubai for sometime now, and when we heard from GLORY and its interest to stage their next event in Dubai, we wanted to partner with them,” said Al Dah.
“GLORY is a big brand and they have been around the world hosting sell out events and now they are in Dubai. The MMA scene here is getting momentum and is getting bigger and bigger, with Jiu Jitsu and UFC in Abu Dhabi and now kickboxing in Dubai with GLORY.”
Rudmann told the press conference attendees that the card being host to the World Lightweight Championship fight between Robin van Roosmalen and Andy ‘The Machine’ Ristie speaks volumes about GLORY’s respect for the Dubai market.
“They love combat sports here in this part of the world. It’s the first time we are bringing GLORY here and we want to show the best athletes in the world of kickboxing to the fans in Dubai,” he said. “This bout against Van Roosmalen and Ristie is going to be unbelievable.
“Both of these fighters are incredibly fast. I would say Ristie is the Novak Djokovic of kickboxing - he is unpredictable, he is unconventional and has so much fluidity and power. Van Roosmalen is a bulldog, he goes forward, he is incredibly fit and strong, so if he is able to connect with some gloves, then Ristie is in trouble.
“It’s one of the matches kickboxing fans around the world have been waiting for and it’s going to be in Dubai for the world title belt. This bout can be a catalyst event to put kickboxing on the map in Dubai and this region.”
