Injury forces Larsen out of GLORY 22 tournament

Niclas Larsen (40-7-1, 20 KO’s) has been forced to pull out of the GLORY 22 FRANCE Lightweight Contender Tournament.

The Danish lightweight was forced to attend a hospital this week after what he thought was a sore but not particularly severe foot injury ballooned up due to a bad infection. He required immediate medical attention and is unable to compete on Friday June 5.

“All my preparation has been better then ever, I felt stronger and more ready then ever and now this?! [I thought] “I've hurt my foot, no problem I will get ready [anyway],” but after five days in hell of pain the doctors found out that my infection [level] was dangerously high and they had to open up the foot,” he says.

“They still haven't found the reason why my infection [levels] are so high so I'll probably spend the rest of the week here on the hospital being observed.”

Larsen says he is “so sad” about being forced to pull out of the tournament because “a dream chance to fight all the way to the top… was a dream coming true”. However, he is taking a philosophical approach to his ailment, saying that  “this is what happens sometimes in this fight game and unlucky for me, it was my turn.”

“I promise I will get back soon and then I'll bring fire with me. This is one more challenge I have to overcome and this will only get me stronger and more focused in the future.”

GLORY is currently speaking with several fighters regarding a replacement for Larsen; an announcement will be made in the coming days. Larsen was due to face Josh Jauncey in the semi-finals, with the other semi-final bracket featuring former champion Davit Kiria against Thai standout Sitthichai.

The card is headlined by Rico ‘The Prince’ Verhoeven defending his World Heavyweight Championship title against Benjamin ‘Mr Gentleman’ Adegbuyi. The Friday, June 5 event airs live in the US on Spike TV at 4pm ET and in France on Canal+ at 10pm CET.