Jamal Ben Saddik vs Sofian Laidouni : Fight Preview by Unibet

GLORY 100 is set to be the biggest event in kickboxing history and one of the biggest events of the combat sport calendar. This Saturday, June 14, four GLORY world titles will be on the line and four separate four-man one-night tournaments will occur to determine who qualifies for the Last Heavyweight Standing finals. Amongst them is the very anticipated fight between Jamal Ben Saddik (38-9, 29 KO) and Sofian Laidouni (38-4-1, 19 KO). 

The Goliath made his highly anticipated return this year with back to back victories over Uku Jurjendal (20-10, 16 KO) and Cristian Ristea (44-26, 13 KO). Although some observers were wondering if the time off the ring had affected him, he showed that he was still one of the very best heavyweight in the world with those two performances. Jamal will now be facing his toughest test this year in the emerging Sofian Laidouni. 

The Frenchman is on a two-fights winning streak in GLORY. After a setback in Antwerp last year, he put together two impressive performances against Ionut Iancu (31-10, 13 KO) and Oleh Pryimachov (16-6, 5 KO) to establish himself as one of the biggest prospects of the division. A win over Jamal Ben Saddik would be a defining moment for his career and it’s an opportunity for him to make a name for himself on the biggest stage there is. 

This fight promises to be a real clash of styles. Jamal Ben Saddik has been more cautious inside the ring since his return and some would suggest that he is not as lethal as he used to be. His high kick finish over Uku Jurjendal in February served as a reminder that his legendary power is still there but everybody now wonders how he is going to react to Laidouni’s mobility. 

One thing that defines Laidouni’s style is that he is not a stationary target. The Frenchman is always moving and it is hard to force the fight on him. Jamal will need to use his kicks early to slow him down and set-up some power shots to hurt him. On the other hand, Sofian needs to keep the pace high, pressuring Jamal and forcing the Moroccan to be on the backfoot. He will have to work around Jamal’s range however as The Goliath has proved many times in his career that he is an expert when it comes to keeping the fight at his preferred distance.  

This should be a very interesting fight. Laidouni’s path to victory relies on a very disciplined and dynamic performance. He needs to be elusive to avoid Jamal’s pace and force Jamal to fight while moving backwards. Ben Saddik needs to hinder Laidouni’s mobility early and set up big shots to close the deal.