Following on from the success of the incredible GLORY x RISE Featherweight Grand Prix this past December, the two leading kickboxing promotions have teamed up once again to officially launch the ‘GLORY x RISE: Last Featherweight Standing’ tournament, dubbed ‘The Baddest Tournament on Earth.’
Kicking off this summer, twelve of GLORY’s top featherweights along with twelve of the best from RISE will compete over the course of six unmissable events starting with June 21 at the Yokohama Buntai in Japan to determine who will be the Last Featherweight Standing.
Over the course of the six events, the field of twenty-four will come down to a four-man one-night tournament finale to crown the last featherweight standing.
The best field of 145 lb stand-up martial artists on the planet today compete in GLORY and Rise and this tournament will be one of the most competitive tournaments in the history of combat sports.
Earlier today, during a press conference in Japan, the first matchups for June 21 were confirmed on the GLORY side of the bracket. Exciting Moroccan Ayoub Bourrass (15-2, 4 KO) takes on Spain’s Aitor Currito (27-7-1, 13 KO) and France’s Bobo Sacko (77-6-1, 30 KO) clashes with Andre Santos (23-2, 10 KO) in an explosive affair.
“We are looking forward to partnering with GLORY as we did last year,” said Mr. Takashi Ito, CEO of RISE. “The Last Featherweight Standing tournament is the best of the best in the world gathered together to determine the best on the planet. I am very excited.
“As we saw in December, the featherweight division is one of the most exciting divisions in kickboxing,” said Marshall Zelaznik, GLORY CEO. “RISE have been tremendous partners, and I am thrilled to extend our cooperation for the Last Featherweight Standing tournament. Together we will put on can’t miss events where the featherweight division will be on display.”
This tournament comes off the heels of GLORY announcing the Last Heavyweight Standing, a multi-event tournament series starting with thirty-two heavyweights on April 5 at ‘GLORY 99: Last Heavyweight Standing’ at the Rotterdam Ahoy and culminating in a huge end of year eight-man one-night tournament.