GLORY 44: Doumbé/Groenhart rematch potentially a career-defining bout fo...

No fighter in the history of GLORY Kickboxing - indeed, in the history of the sport - has succeeded in uniting his rivals in the way that welterweight champion Cedric Doumbé has. To a man, the other welterweight contenders hate him.   The reason? Doumbé (67-4-1, 39 KO’s) trolls his opponents relentlessly, haranguing and ridiculing them on social media and angering them with trash-talk, memes and disrespect. Generally they are incensed by the time they enter the ring with him - and that’s right where he wants them.   An angry opponent isn’t thinking straight. That makes them more predictable, and predictability allows Doumbé to work his magic. So he baits them still further, showboating in front of them, baiting them, daring them to hit him and then mocking them when they miss.   It’s an approach which contrasts sharply with the usual standard in kickboxing, where professions of mutual respect are the norm and trash-talk is a relatively unusual occurrence.    His peers are not a fan of it: Yoann Kongolo fairly lost his mind at GLORY 39 and while Nieky Holzken professes not to care about Doumbé’s antics, but it’s clear much of it did indeed cause him annoyance.    In Chicago this week Doumbé will rematch Murthel Groenhart (66-22-3, 38 KO’s) and make his third defense of the welterweight title in the process.    Groenhart too has history with Doumbé, losing his temper with Doumbé’s tricks in their GLORY 28 PARIS meeting and then losing a unanimous decision. If Doumbé can make him do that again, Groenhart will fall right into the trap.   Will it happen? Groenhart, 31, is certainly experienced enough to recognize the danger and avoid it. His coach Mike Passenier also has a large body of knowledge on which to draw in order to get the gameplay right. Forming tactics isn’t the issue; having Groenhart stick to them is.    One interesting question is just how much injury was a factor when they fought at GLORY 28 PARIS. Groenhart’s team said he carried a bad rib injury into that bout and it got worse early in the first round, leaving him fighting wounded for rest of the match.   On the other side, Doumbé is just 24 years old and only getting better. Lots of his fellow fighters feel like we may be entering a period in which he dominates the welterweight division and holds the belt for some time.    Friday night’s rematch with Groenhart will be a key career moment. Having beaten Nieky Holzken twice and then beaten Yoann Kongolo in their GLORY 39 rematch, a second win over Groenhart would cement him as the world’s top welterweight kickboxer at present.   Fight week is now underway and we are just a few days away from seeing whether Groenhart achieves his dream of winning the world title or whether Doumbé silences the last of his doubters with another perfect performance.   GLORY 44 Chicago will be carried live on ESPN3 at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT on Friday, Aug. 25.
Tickets for GLORY 44 Chicago and GLORY 44 SuperFight Series are on sale now, available for online purchase at searscentre.com and at the Sears Centre Arena box office.