GLORY COLLISION 7 took place Saturday night, December 7, live from the GelreDome football stadium in Arnhem, the Netherlands. It was the second biggest night in GLORY history with over 22,000 fans in attendance.
The main event saw an all-time GLORY classic with Rico Verhoeven (65-10, 21 KO) retaining his belt for a record breaking twelfth time after an exciting fight against Levi Rigters (19-3, 9 KO). Much like their Grand Prix finale fight, Verhoeven found himself in trouble getting knocked down before coming back strong. In true championship fashion, ‘The King of Kickboxing’ dug deep and got the decision victory in an all-time classic.
In the co-main event of the evening, Tarik Khbabez (52-11-1, 28 KO) retained the GLORY light heavyweight title after a back and forth affair against Donegi Abena (30-11, 10 KO). ‘The Tank’ then called for a ‘Champ vs. Champ’ fight against Rico Verhoeven. In the post-fight interview, Abena removed his gloved and announced his retirement in the ring.
Fan favorite Bahram Rajabzadeh (70-4, 62 KO) got back to winning winning ways in typical fashion finishing Daniel Stefanovski (34-6, 25 KO) in the very first round. ‘The Golden Wolf’ then took his shot and called for a title fight in the new year.
Veteran Sergej Maslobojev (40-7, 24 KO)Â put himself back into title contention with a dominant decision win over young prospect Stefan Latescu (17-5, 8 KO). The Lithuanian remains undefeated in the COLLISION series with 3 straight victories.
Light heavyweight prospects Cem Caceres (18-1, 14 KO) and Mory Kromah (31-2-1, 18 KO) both got important wins and remained undefeated in GLORY, both now moving to 3-0 in their debut years with wins over Pascal Touré (20-8, 7 KO) and Milos Cvjeticanin (11-3, 8 KO), respectively. Additionally, top-French heavyweight Sofian Laidouni (37-4-1, 18 KO) won a convincing decision over Ionut Iancu (30-10, 12 KO).
In the COLLISION 7 prelims, Younes Smaili (42-3, 19 KO) defeated Tayfun Ozcan (87-11-3, 28 KO)Â as the rivals settled their score, former title contender Serkan Ozcaglayan (47-10, 36 KO)Â made it back to back wins with a victory over Ramy Deghir (7-2, 1 KO), former GLORY welterweight champ Endy Semeleer (37-3, 18 KO)Â got back on the win column by beating Jay Overmeer (30-8, 16 KO), Ukrainian heavyweight Oleh Pryimachov (16-5, 5 KO)Â defeated Barkouch (45-8-2, 5 KO), and Ayoub Bourrass (16-2, 4 KO)Â got his first GLORY victory with a win over Anass Ahmidouch-Fatah (33-6-1, 13 KO).
GLORY COLLISION 7 Results
Main Event
GLORY Heavyweight World Tite
Rico Verhoeven (65-10, 21 KO) def. Levi Rigters (19-3, 9 KO)Â via unanimous decision (47-46 x 2, 48-45 x 3)
Co-Main Event
GLORY Light-Heavyweight World Title
Tarik Khbabez (52-11-1, 28 KO) def. Donegi Abena (30-11, 10 KO)Â via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46 x 2, 50-45)
Light Heavyweight
Bahram Rajabzadeh (70-4, 62 KO) def. Daniel Stefanovski (34-6, 25 KO)Â via TKO (3 knockdowns, 2:32)
Light Heavyweight
Sergej Maslobojev (40-7, 24 KO) def. Stefan Latescu (17-5, 8 KO)Â via unanimous decision (30-27 x 4, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight
Cem Caceres (18-1, 14 KO) def. Pascal Touré (20-8, 7 KO) via unanimous decision (30-27 x 5)
Heavyweight
Sofian Laidouni (37-4-1, 18 KO)Â def. Ionut Iancu (30-10, 12 KO) via unanimous decision (30-27 x 5)
Light Heavyweight
Mory Kromah (31-2-1, 18 KO) def. Milos Cvjeticanin (11-3, 8 KO) via unanimous decision (29-28 x 5)
Catchweight (75 kg)
Younes Smaili (42-13, 19 KO) def. Tayfun Ozcan (87-11-3, 28 KO) via split decision (29-28 x 4, 28-29)
Middleweight
Serkan Ozcaglayan (47-10, 36 KO) def. Ramy Deghir (7-2, 1 KO)Â (30-27 x 3, 29-28 x 2)
Welterweight
Endy Semeleer (38-3, 18 KO) def. Jay Overmeer (30-8, 16 KO) via unanimous decisions (30-27 x4, 29-28)
Heavyweight
Oleh Pryimachov (16-5, 5 KO) def. Abderrahman Barkouch (45-8-2, 5 KO)Â via unanimous decision (30-27 x 5)
Featherweight
Ayoub Bourass (16-2, 4 KO) def. Anass Ahmidouch-Fatah (33-6-1, 13 KO) via split decision (30-27 x3, 29-28, 28-9)