Paris, France - Cedric ‘The Best’ Doumbé (73-6-1, 43 KO’s) retained his world welterweight championship in the main event of GLORY 66 PARIS with a stunning second-round knockout of Alim ‘The Professor’ Nabiyev (51-8, 21 KO’s).
It was the fourth stoppage victory of his current five-fight win streak and also served the dual purpose of avenging a March 2018 split-decision loss to Azerbaijan’s Nabiyev.
The close nature of that first encounter juxtaposed sharply with this one-sided rematch: Doumbé charged from his corner as soon as the fight started and piled relentless pressure onto Nabiyev, eventually creating the opening for the thunderous fight-ending right cross.
Doumbé’s fellow Parisian champion Anissa ‘C18’ Meksen (99-4, 32 KO’s) also had a short night. Her defense against Swedish contender Sofia ‘The Wolf’ Olofsson (49-9, 21 KO’s) was expected to be a stiff test, but Meksen proved razor-sharp in more ways than one.
Speed and pin-point accuracy had Meksen’s sharp jab and hand combinations finding ways past Olofsson’s guard repeatedly, but it was a kick which ended the fight and kept the super-bantamweight belt around Meksen’s waist.
Just over two minutes into the first of five scheduled rounds she used her boxing skills to herd Olofsson’s guard into a shape which left her exposed for the left high kick. The blow duly landed and opened a cut above Olofsson’s eye of such severity that the ringside physician elected to step in and end the fight.
The night’s third title contest was between light-heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov (21-5, 8 KO’s) of Russia and Donegi Abena (24-6, 6 KO’s), of the Netherlands via Suriname.
Abena, 22, was on a mission to become the youngest champion in GLORY history and at one point looked on track to achieve that goal, only for Vakhitov to rally enough to prompt judges to make him the winner by split-decision.
Also of note in Paris was the lightweight encounter between Stoyan Koprivlenski (11-3, 5 KO’s)and Mohammed ‘The Destroyer’ Jaraya (66-8, 36 KO’s), who was fighting at lightweight for the first time in nearly two years.
The contest showcased Jaraya’s trademark aggression, which Koprivlenski met in kind. Evenly matched going into the third round, Jaraya late in the fight found himself on the receiving end of a knee which sawed his left eyebrow open.
As Jaraya’s wound poured blood, referee Paul Nicholls called the ringside physician in to inspect it. With 47 seconds left in the round Jaraya expressed an urgent wish to continue, but the physician felt the blood was obscuring the young fighter’s vision and declared the contest ended.
Jaraya, certain he was being robbed of victory in a fight he desperately wanted to win, briefly demonstrated the intensity of his frustration by locking his jaw around a padded corner post and chewing at it.
GLORY 66 PARIS took place Saturday, June 22 at the Zenith Paris - La Villette in downtown Paris, France.
The event was presented in association with Monster Energy, fast-transaction cryptocurrency Litecoin, premium boxing equipment brand Fairtex and House of Nutrition, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of health and wellness supplements.
The full results for GLORY 66 PARIS are as follows:
MAIN CARD
Cédric Doumbé def. Alim Nabiyev by knockout (Right Cross)
Round 2, 2:48 - retains GLORY World Welterweight Championship
Anissa Meksen def. Sofia Olofsson by TKO (cut, doctor stoppage)
Round 1, 2:06 - retains GLORY World Super-Bantamweight Championship
Hamicha def. Adam Hadfield by TKO (Left Hook to Body)
Round 1, 1:35
Felipe Micheletti def. Luis Tavares by split-decision
(28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
G66 SUPERFIGHT SERIES
Artem Vakhitov def. Donegi Abena by split decision
(47-48, 49-46, 49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
Retains GLORY World Light-Heavyweight Championship
Artur Gorlov def. Yegish Yegoian by Unanimous Decision
(30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Stoyan Koprivlenski def. Mohammed Jaraya by TKO (cut over left eye by knee strike)
Round 3, 2:13
Antonio Plazibat def. Nordine Mahieddine by Unanimous Decision
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Aleksei Ulianov def. Masaya Kubo by Unanimous Decision
(30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
GLORY 66 PRELIMINARY CARD
Michaël Palandre def. Vlad Tuinov by Split-Decision
(28-29, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Matěj Peňáz def. Matthieu Ceva by TKO (three-knockdown rule)
Round 1, 1:46
Guerric Billet def. William Goldie-Galloway by Unanimous Decision
(30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Sarah Moussaddak def. Aurore Dos Santos by Unanimous Decision
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Please find photos and video news release (VNR) from the event below:
PHOTOS - GLORY 66 PARIS / GLORY 66 SUPERFIGHT SERIES / GLORY 66 PRELIMS
Photo Gallery: LINK TO VIEW / DOWNLOAD
Photo Credit: James Law, Glory Sports International
VNR - GLORY 66 PARIS / GLORY 66 SUPERFIGHT SERIES / GLORY 66 PRELIMS
Video News Release: LINK TO VIEW / DOWNLOAD
Video Credit: Glory Sports International
VNR is to be used by daily news programs explicitly for reporting within 48 hours of the event. For further use, including talk or sport channel programming, please use the contact information below to discuss footage licensing.
About GLORY
Founded in 2012, GLORY is the world’s premier stand-up combat league.
GLORY athletes compete across six weight divisions and are elite practitioners of striking styles such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Boxing. GLORY champions are the undisputed best strikers on the planet in their respective weight class.
Owned and operated by GLORY Sports International (GSI), the league holds 14 global events per year, with media distribution to over 200 territories throughout the world.
GLORY maintains offices in Los Angeles, Denver, Amsterdam, London and Singapore.
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GLORY Press Contact:
John O’Regan, GLORY Public Relations
+44 788 88 91 861
john@gloryworldseries.com
press@gloryworldseries.com
