Itâs been more than a year since Niclas Larsenâs last GLORY outing, but the Danish fighter is finally back on the big stage and ready to fight for his spot in the top of the GLORY lightweight division. The 25 year old Dane is excited to be back on GLORYâs big stage and ready to make an impression in what seems to be one of the organizations best 4 mans tournaments.
Back in September 2013, the now 25 year old fighter got thrown into the deep end of the shark-like 70kg pool that forms of GLORYâs Lightweight division in his debut fight. Niclas made a name for himself amongst fight fans after his all out war with Andy Ristie. It was a fight he lost on points, but also a fight he took with just a week notice and the first fight where Larsen got a taste of a bad injury - literally.
The fight with Ristie nearly cost Larsen his teeth, but Dane wasnât concerned with that in the moment of the heat. âWhatever happens in a fight happens, injuries included. Itâs something Iâve always been completely aware of. You canât let anything get to you. There is a lot of adrenaline going on in a fight, so you donât feel pain the same wayâ, the Dane said, but added, that he âdid feel something was wrong with his teethâ after the clash with Andy Ristieâs flying knee.
â But Iâd never let that stop me. If Iâm going to be stopped in the ring, it has to be the referee who stops meâ, is Niclas Larsenâs âdie hardâ attitude to injuries in the fight game. And itâs exactly this attitude and his exciting explosive style that have made him popular amongst fight fans all over the world.
Larsenâs second chance to prove himself under the GLORY banner came against the Australian superstar and KO-Artist Steve Moxon in Istanbul, Turkey at GLORY 15. Like any good Thaiboxer, Larsen is a great fan of throwing knees (especially the flying knee, which he says is his favorite), and this was something Moxon got to feel first hand in their fight. The strong Dane finished an otherwise game Moxon in round two with vicious knee strikes.
 Between Istanbul (GLORY 15) and Lille (GLORY 22) the Danish fighter spend his time fighting under full muay thai rules, which is also his background, but the Dane insists that GLORY Kickboxing rules suit him fine. âThe 5 second active clinch rule is plenty of time for me to score points and hurt my opponent and Iâve always been the kind of fighter who goes out there and into war right away, so the 9 minutes to show the hard years of training is fine with meâ.
 From early childhood Larsen had a thing for physical outburst. Maybe due to being the youngest out of three brothers he was pegged to develop a certain physical strength, and growing up he was always the strongest kid in his class. The inspiration for fight sport came from his brothers, âMy two older brothers had a period of watching Bruce Lee and Van Damme movies, and even joining a local karate gym. I remember they sometimes used to try out new techniques on me. I got pretty fascinated by the martial arts movies.â
At 17 years old, Larsen found Mikenta Thaiboxing through a friend who suggested Thaiboxing might be the thing. âI remember, I went in there first time, thinking I was going to be the best and beat everyone there. But they actually ignored me and I didnât get the attention, I thought I was going to get, so I had to come backâ.
Six month after joining the gym, Larsen had his first amateur fight and a year later it was âThe end of partying and drinking. I was even smoking cigarettes back thenâ, Niclas Larsen says about that period of his life. âThaiboxing became my life, and Iâve been active in the sport and training very hard ever since. Preferably I train twice a day if my work allows it (Niclas Larsen works in an institution for at-risk youths), and even if I miss a training here and there, it usually work out in the end.â
Niclas Larsen is one of the few professional fighters, who donât cut a lot of weight. He walks around close to his fight weight (which is also why, he could take the fight with Andy Ristie on a week notice) and says he just eat healthy. âI try and eat sensible and can tell the difference in my training if Iâve been eating junk food, rather than healthy. My energy levels are down, and I donât perform as normal. So it basically works out that I eat healthy all the time. We (my family) try to eat as organic as possible too.â
When not training twice a day or working with at-risk youth, youâre most likely to find the 26 year old Dane at home with his two sons (Luciano and Damien) and long term girlfriend Metzy Jovel. As far as the future goes, Larsen has one big wish: To make it as far in his sport as possible and beyond a successful career as a fighter, he says he wants to give back to the sport. âI want to keep fighting, as long as my body allows me to, and as long as I think itâs fun. In the future, I think, Iâd like to start my own place. Train kids and future champions. Give back a little for all the great sport of thaiboxing has given to meâ.
But first we get to enjoy him in GLORY and hopefully for many more spectacular action packed fights that he is already getting fame for. Larsen is currently ranked number 6 in the GLORY Lightweight division.
Tania Presutti
