Kongolo aims to win tournament then beat “nothing amazing” Holzken in Am...

The GLORY 25 MILAN Welterweight Contender Tournament will send its winner forward to a showdown with reigning champion Nieky Holzken on December’s GLORY 26 AMSTERDAM card.

Two of the participants are well-established names in the division - Murthel Groenhart (56-18-3, 32 KO’s) and Karim Ghajii (94-11-1, 50 KO‘s) - while some Italian flavor is added by the addition of Nicola Gallo (94-11-1, 50 KO’s), participating under the ‘local wild card’ rule.

Yoann Kongolo (60-5, 45 KO’s) is the fourth participant. A Swiss national of Congolese heritage - something he shares with Zack Mwekassa, Danyo Ilunga and Chieck Kongo, among others - he debuted at GLORY 22 FRANCE with a dominating win over his personal rival Cedric Doumbe of France.

His name is not as well known as some others in his divisions but he plans to change that quickly, starting with this Friday’s tournament. He brings a wealth of technique to the ring, holding a third-dan black belt in Kyokoshin Karate, a 2-0 record as a professional boxer and a decade of Muay Thai training.

“I feel really good, I am ready for this. I was training out in Las Vegas at Mayweather Boxing Club and then I spent one month in Amsterdam training at Mike’s Gym,” he says.

“I think [Ghajii] is a good opponent for me [in the semi-finals], I am ready for him. He is experienced, has been training a long time. I think he has won something like nine world titles but for me it is no problem. I think now his time is finished and it is time for a new generation.”

Kongolo’s recent change of allegiance to Mike’s Gym means that he is joining a team which already houses Groenhart. There is a very real chance of the two meeting each other in the final of the GLORY 25 MILAN tournament. Already they have done some hard sparring together and Kongolo says it will be strictly business if it comes to it.

“When I fight now I will be representing Mike’s Gym. I got really hard training there, very good. For me it is the best kickboxing gym in the world. Every day there is hard sparring, many sparring partners, we trained hard for like six hours a day,” he says.

“Look at the guys who have trained there - Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, Gokhan Saki. I am really happy, the feeling with Mike is really good and I am very happy. Murthel is a great fighter. Great concentration, great focus, really high level.

“The day I arrived at Mike’s Gym it was discussed what might happen if we had to fight each other. I am sure that the final of the tournament will be me against Murthel. I think that if that happens, Mike will not corner either of us, he will absent himself.

“The same thing happened in K-1 MAX when Artur Kyshenko had to fight with Murthel, so it’s nothing new. But it may be a little bizarre for Mike all the same, to have two guys in the final.”

Despite his respect for Groenhart, Kongolo is firmly convinced he will win this tournament and progress to a December 4 showdown with Nieky Holzken in Amsterdam. Interestingly, he doesn’t hold Holzken in the same awe that many of his peers seem to.

“I think that he is a good fighter but I have a strategy for him. My opinion is that many guys fight against Holzken with uncertainty, they do not feel they will win the fight, they just show up,” he explains.

“But for me he is nothing amazing, he is OK. For me he is no different to Ghajii or Groenhart. If you said to me hey, you want to fight Nieky right now, tonight? I would say sure, let’s go, fine by me. I really want this fight with him. And over five rounds? Definitely I think I am stronger than him.

“Fighting in Amsterdam would be incredible. Amsterdam is the center of this sport, it is the premier location for this sport and there is so much history there. I think Amsterdam’s event will be unforgettable… because it will be when you see me win the GLORY welterweight championship, ha!”

GLORY 25 MILAN takes place this Friday, November 6 at the PalaIper Arena in Monza, Milan, Italy.

In the main event Robin van Roosmalen defend the lightweight title against Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, winner of the GLORY 22 Lightweight Contender Tournament winner.

In the co-main event, former world #1 Giorgio Petrosyan return to GLORY for the first time since his loss to Andy ‘The Machine’ Ristie. He faces rising Canadian talent Josh ‘The Butcher’ Jauncey, with the latter making no bones about his intentions to destroy Petrosyan in front of his home audience.

Broadcast details for GLORY 25 MILAN will be announced shortly.