Murthel ‘The Predator’ Groenhart (55-16-3, 31 KO’s) will return to the welterweight (170lbs/77kgs) division at GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS on Friday, August 8.
Groenhart debuted at GLORY 2 BRUSSELS with a knockout win over former welterweight champion Marc de Bonte but then elected to drop back down to lightweight (155lbs/70kgs), where he had won the K-1 MAX 2012 tournament prior to being picked up by GLORY.
However, the weight-cut proved increasingly difficult Groenhart and after a 1-2 run he has elected to return to welterweight and chase a title shot. Groenhart trains and fights out Mike’s Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands and counts Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Gokhan Saki and Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley among his teammates.
He will face the rising British talent Chad ‘2Slick’ Sugden (13-3, 3 KO’s) in the co-headline fight of the Superfight Series card.
Sugden, 21, is one of the brightest young prospects on the kickboxing scene today. Trained from his youth by his father, himself a champion in his fighting days, Sugden was voted the 2013 Fighter of the Year by the ISKA, one of the sport’s oldest and most influential sanctioning bodies.
Having debuted on the undercard of GLORY 5 LONDON with a win, Sugden faced Turkey’s Atakan Arslan at GLORY 20 DUBAI in April and took a decision win over the GLORY veteran with a polished performance.
Sugden certainly does not lack for confidence. Prior to the Dubai fight he was already calling out some of the division’s biggest names. “Nieky Holzken, Joe Valtellini, Raymond Daniels. I like their style and I would fight any of those guys… I think my speed would be a problem for them,” he said in a pre-fight interview.
Groenhart wasn’t on Sugden’s list in April but only because the Amsterdam man was still a lightweight at the time. Now he has returned to welterweight he and Sugden are on collision course. Groenhart has to deal with Sugden’s speed while Sugden has to handle a former world champion with a wealth of experience. It will be a fight with huge implications for both fighters’ careers.
GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS takes place Friday, August 7 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event sees Nieky ‘The Natural’ Holzken and Raymond ‘Real Deal’ Daniels squaring off for the vacant World Welterweight Championship.
Groenhart vs. Sugden takes place on the Superfight Series section of the event, which takes place immediately before the numbered GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS card. GLORY Superfight Series 23 airs in the US on the CBS Sports network via tape-delay, while GLORY 23 LAS VEGAS airs live on Spike TV at 11pm ET/10pm CT.
