The heavyweight division welcomed some new blood in Copenhagen as two prospects entered the ring looking to prove that they belong with the world's premier kickboxing organization. It was also a style war, the brawler Kepenek (11-4-0) against the more technically-minded Mozny (15-4-1).
Things nearly ended early as a Mozny head kick skimmed over Kepenek's head about twenty seconds in. Instead it woke Kepenek up and he went to work, pressuring forwards constantly and looking to close the distance so he could land his power shots.
Mozny had the range advantage but Kepenek was able to get inside repeatedly and land on him. With just over a minute left in round one, Mozny ate a right hand which dropped him to the canvas. He beat the referee's count though and was able to fend Kepenek off for the remainder of the frame.
Across the following rounds Mozny was more successful in imposing the kind of distance he wanted to work at, staying at range and working combinations while Kepenek stayed with his tactic of looking for the big single shots.
Gas became an issue for Kepenek in the third and Mozny was able to click into gear, loosening up and letting some nice techniques come out.
At one point he landed a big knee to Kepenek's face. Kepenek staggered backwards then came forward. Mozny hit a spin kick which landed flush on his jaw. The kick staggered Kepenek right across the ring and into the ropes. He bounced off them, made an angry and marched right back into the fight.
Kepenek had clearly won the first round with the knockdown but rounds two and three went to Mozny. This made the fight a draw after three rounds and caused the jduges to order an extra round., much to the delight of the arena fans.
With the outcome resting entirely on this final round, both fighters went for it with everything they had. Mozny turned out to have more. With a bigger gas tank than Kepenek and better combination work he was able to tee off repeatedly, scoring constantly to win the round and win the fight by decision.
Cor Hemmers, GLORY matchmaker, observed that Mozny “shows potential for the future... he has more work to do on his boxing and his defense but he looks interesting.”
