Before every event we take a look at the thought process behind the matchmaking and also some angles on the fights and what strengths and weaknesses each fighter brings to the ring with him. On Friday June 5 we have GLORY 22 FRANCE in Lille, France, commencing with the Superfight Series card. Let’s take a look now at the matchmaking for GLORY Superfight Series 22.
Thomas Adamapoulos (FRA) vs Shane Oblonsky (USA)
Featherweight (145lbs/65kgs)
Adamapoulous (47-11-1, 28 KO’s) is a very experienced featherweight and a very complete fighter in terms of his skills. He has boxing, kicks, knees, jumping knees, he’s a very strong opponent. America’s Shane Oblonsky (9-4, 3 KO’s) has less experience but is a very tough guy.
He was in the final of the Featherweight Contender Tournament but lost to current champion Gabriel Varga. That fight showed us that Oblonsky can be up there though, so this fight is an opportunity for him to get experience and start that climb up the division.
On paper, experience suggests an advantage for the local fighter Adamapoulos but for sure Oblonsky will be bringing all his firepower into the ring and this will be an explosive encounter.
Marat Grigorian (BEL) vs. Djime Coulibaly (FRA) Reserve Fight
Lightweight Contender Tournament Reserve Match (154lbs/70kgs)
In my opinion Grigorian (41-6-2, 23 KO’s) is probably the most powerful fighter in the lightweight division. He is experienced and he had a good fight with Robin van Roosmalen last year. For sure he is a fighter who will make his way to the top during this coming year and get to challenging for the title .
Djime Coulibaly (50-11-4, 18 KO’s) is French, a Muay Thai fighter, a lot of experience. He is very mobile, good set of skills, moves a lot and throws good combinations. Marat is more static so this will be speed and movement versus punishing power. This is not an easy fight for Marat, he is more comfortable with fighters like Van Roosmalen who come forward looking to fight.
This is a big chance for Coulibaly to find his level in kickboxing. If he beats Grigorian he certainly deserves another fight in GLORY and a place in the official ranking.
Cedric Doumbe (FRA) vs Yoann Kongolo (SWI)
Welterweight (170lbs.77kgs)
This is the GLORY debut of both fighters and it is an interesting fight because it is a rematch of a September 2014 fight which ended with a controversial decision win for Swiss fighter Kongolo (59-5, 45 KO’s). We first saw Kongolo fighting in Thailand and we have been waiting to give him his debut fight.
Doumbe (48-3-1, 32 KO’s) is the French fighter so he will have the support of the local crowd. Here he has a chance to get revenge on Kongolo for the September loss and also a big opportunity to show GLORY what he is about and maybe even earn himself a contract.
Filip Verlinden (BEL) vs. Mourad Bouzidi (TUN)
Light-Heavyweight (209lbs/95kgs)
Verlinden (44-12-1, 16 KO’s) is one of GLORY’s best fighters. He has fought in three different weight classes, from heavyweight to middleweight, and says that middleweight is where he wants to be.
For this event he is fighting at light-heavyweight because we are right on the border of Belgium and he wanted the opportunity to fight close to home against an experienced veteran like Bouzidi (77-22-2, 34 KO’s).
Verlinden is the more technical of the two, Bouzidi has the power advantage. Both of them have faced the best of the best many times and this should be a really exciting fight.
Freddy Kemayo (FRA) vs. Jamal Ben Saddik (BEL/MORR)
Heavyweight (+209lbs/95kgs)
The main event of this Superfight Series card has Freddy Kemayo (67-20-1, 46 KO’s), one of the best and most experienced heavyweights in France, against the biggest active heavyweight on the GLORY roster, Ben Saddik.
Kemayo recently beat Peter Aerts, who took a win over Ben Saddik at GLORY 8, so they have a common opponent. Kemayo is without doubt the more experienced fighter but don’t underestimate Ben Saddik. He weighs 127kgs and is developing his skills week by week. He already showed his power when he knocked out Rico Verhoeven and took wins over Errol Zimmerman and Remy Bonjasky.
He is coming back from suspension after an incident of losing his temper against Hesdy Gerges. This is a new start for Ben Saddik and perhaps it can be the start of his journey towards a heavyweight title shot. Kemayo will need to use his experience to figure out the problem of the big powerful guy if he wants to get the win.
