GLORY Kickboxing Last Heavyweight Standing - meet the fighters

GLORY Kickboxing's ‘Last Heavyweight Standing’ tournament begins on Saturday April 5, live on DAZN.

The historic competition is a five-event series featuring the biggest stars in the sport and concludes with an end of year, eight-man, one-night tournament.

It all starts with ‘GLORY 99: Last Heavyweight Standing’ on April 5.

DAZN News runs through the stars to watch out for during the epic competition.

Ionut Iancu (30-10, 12 KO | 2-1, 2 KO GLORY) | Romania

• Nickname: The Romanian Tank
• Facing Cihad Kepenek (23-7, 16 KO, Turkey)
• Known for his granite chin & hands of stone
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Murat Aygun & Brian Douwes

Glory Kickboxing

Ahmed Krnjić (14-3-1, 4 KO) | Bosnia & Herzegovina

• Nickname: Bosnian Steel
• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Alin Nechita (16-1, 7 KO)
• Comes into GLORY on a 9-fight winning streak
• Notable wins over LHS entrant Brian Douwes, Uku Jurjendal, & Bruno Chaves

Mory Kromah (31-3-1, 18 KO | 3-1, 2 KO GLORY) | Guinea

• Nickname: The Black Ghost 
• Facing Nicolas Wamba (75-7, 24 KO)
• Stepping up from Light Heavyweight.
• Went 3-0 in his debut year in GLORY in 2024.
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Nabil Khachab, Anis Bouzid & Milos Cvjeticanin.

Tariq Osaro (26-4-1, 13 KO | 6-3, 5 KO GLORY) | Nigeria

• Nickname: Cookie
• Facing Benjamin Adegbuyi (35-8, 20 KO)
• Former Interim-Heavyweight Champion
• KO victories in 5 of his 6 GLORY wins
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Nico Horta, Murat Aygun, & Cristian Ristea

Bahram Rajabzadeh (70-4, 61 KO | 8-4, 6 KO) | Azerbaijan

• Nickname: The Golden Wolf
• Facing: Brian Douwes (42-26-1, 31 KO)
• Most active fighter in GLORY, 8 fights in 2024
• Notable win over LHS entrant Tariq Osaro and Sergej Maslobojev, Luis Tavares & Ibrahim El Bouni

Glory Kickboxing

Jamal Ben Saddik (37-9, 30 KO | 12-7, 7 KO GLORY) | Morocco

• Nickname: The Goliath 
• Facing: Christian Ristea (44-25, 13 KO)
• GLORY 62 heavyweight tournament winner
• Former two-time heavyweight title contender
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Benjamin Adegbuyi & Nicolas Wamba
• Career wins over legends Remy Bonjasky, Errol Zimmerman & Rico Verhoeven

Rade Opačić (21-6, 16 KO) | Serbia

• Making his GLORY debut.
• Facing Nico Horta (23-10, 3 KO)
• Ranked top five in the world.
• Comes into GLORY on a 9-1 run
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Ionut Iancu, Cristian Ristea, & Iraj Azizpour
• Career wins over Guto Inocente, Errol Zimmerman & Pascal Toure

Murat Aygün (32-4, 8 KO | 0-2 in GLORY) | Turkey

• Nickname: The Butcher 
• Facing Asadulla Nasipov (10-1, 5 KO)
• Cousins with Cem Caceres
• Chasing his first victory in GLORY
• Career wins over the likes of Tarik Khbabez, Nordine Mahieddine, Errol Zimmerman, & Jairzinho Rosenstruik

Sofian Laïdouni (37-4-1, 18 KO | 5-2, 1 KO GLORY) | France

• Facing Oleh Pryimachov (16-5, 5 KO)
• Number one heavyweight in France
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Nabil Khachab, Ionut Iancu, & Benjamin Adegbuyi

Benjamin Adegbuyi (35-8, 20 KO | 15-7, 7 KO) | Romania

• Nickname: Mr. Gentleman 
• Facing Tariq Osaro (26-4-1, 13 KO)
• Most successful tournament fighter in GLORY history (3 wins)
• Two-time GLORY heavyweight title contender
• Holds a win over LHS entrant Colin George
• Notable career wins over Badr Hari, Arek Wrzosek, Mladen Brestovac, Junior Tafa, Hesdy Gerges, D’Angelo Marshall, & Jairzinho Rozenstruik

 

Nico Horta (23-10, 3 KO | 1-2 GLORY) | Cape Verde

• Nickname: Big Sexy 
• Facing Rade Opačić (21-6, 16 KO)
• Has yet to be knocked down in his GLORY career
• Notable wins over LHS entrants Soufian Laidouni & Nidal Bchiri

Yuri Farcas (13-3-1, 6 KO) | Italy

• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Iraj Azizipour (69-7, 27 KO)
• Tournament champion in Romania
• Notable win over Claudio Istrate & holds an ISKA title

Oleh Pryimachov (16-5, 5 KO | 1-0 GLORY) | Ukraine

• Facing Sofian Laidouni (37-4-1, 18 KO)
• World heavyweight Muay Thai champion
• Career wins over Carlos Ulberg, Fabio Kwasi, & Barkouch

Anis Bouzid (45-4, 36 KO | 0-1 GLORY) | Morocco

• Nickname: Takamura 
• Facing Nathan Cook (7-2, 6 KO)
• Lost his GLORY debut due to injury (versus Mory Kromah)
• Stepping up from light heavyweight
• Undefeated pro boxing 3-0

Asdren Gashi (18-4-1, 9 KO | 2-0, 1 KO GLORY) | Albania

• Facing Nidal Bchiri (19-4-1, 4 KO)
• Twin brother of Luigi Gashi
• Holds a win over LHS entrant Colin George, one of the craziest fights of 2024

Luigi Gashi (15-4, 4 KO) | Albania

• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Petr Romankevich (29-9, 10 KO)
• Twin brother of Asdren Gashi

Miloš Cvjetićanin (11-3, 8 KO | 1-1, 1 KO GLORY) | Serbia

• Facing Nabil Khachab (29-5-1, 4 KO)
• Stepping up from light heavyweight in GLORY
• Won an 8-man 1-night HW tournament in Serbia prior to signing with GLORY
• Holds a victory over LHS entrant Nadil Bchiri

Cristian Ristea (44-25, 13 KO | 0-1 GLORY) | Romania

• Nickname: The Gladiator 
• Facing Jamal Ben Saddik (37-9, 30 KO)
• Holds victories over LHS entrants Ionut Iancu, Nico Horta, & Miroslav Vujovic
• This will be his 70th professional fight

Colin George (23-12, 21 KO | 0-1 GLORY) | Suriname

• Nickname: The Beast 
• Facing Miroslav Vujovic (11-7, 8 KO)
• Holds an incredible 91% KO ratio
• Tallest fighter in the tournament at 2.06m tall (just bigger than 6’9”)

Cihad Kepenek (23-7, 16 KO | 3-3, 1 KO GLORY) | Turkey

• Facing Ionut Iancu (30-10, 12 KO)
• Former world Muay Thai super heavyweight champion
• Made his GLORY debut back at GLORY 29 almost a decade ago

Alin Nechita (16-1, 7 KO) | Romania

• Nickname: The Beast
• Facing Ahmed Krnjić (14-3-1, 4 KO)
• The youngest fighter in the tournament at 21
• Recently won a Romanian heavyweight kickboxing title

Nicolas Wamba (75-7, 24 KO | 2-1 GLORY) | France

• Nickname: Junior 
• Facing Mory Kromah (31-3-1, 18 KO)
• Most pro fights of anyone in the tournament (82)
• Returning to GLORY for the first time since GLORY 42 in 2017
• Career wins over Stefan Leko, Sergej Maslobojev, Jhonata Diniz, Nordine Mahieddine, & Ismael Londt
• Has held over ten heavyweight titles across Europe

Petr Romankevich (29-9, 10 KO) | 

• Nickname: The Belarusian Bulldozer 
• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Luigi Gashi (15-4, 4 KO)
• Has competed in kickboxing, MMA, & boxing
• Has won heavyweight titles in multiple countries
• Combat sports victories over Datsik & Zuluzinho

Asadulla Nasipov (10-1, 5 KO) |

• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Murat Aygun (32-4, 8 KO)
• World Amateur Champion prior to turning pro

Iraj Azizipour (69-7, 27 KO) | Iran

• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Yuri Farcas (13-3-1, 6 KO)
• Has competed and won a major international tournament in China
• Career wins over Roman Kryklia, Anderson Silva, Oli Thompson & Anderson Silva

Brian Douwes (42-26-1, 31 KO | 0-3 GLORY) | Netherlands

• Nickname: The Hitman 
• Facing Bahram Rajabzadeh (70-4, 61 KO)
• Returning to GLORY for the first time since GLORY 49 back in 2017
• Has career wins over Jamal Ben Saddik, Rico Verhoeven, Tarik Khbabez, & James McSweeney

Tomáš Možný (21-10, 7 KO | 2-4 GLORY) | Slovakia

• Nickname: The Giant Slovak
• Facing Sina Karimian (16-4, 8 KO)
• Returning to GLORY for the first time since GLORY 78 in 2021
• Holds wins over LHS entrant Cihad Kepenek
• Career victories over GLORY vets Arek Wrzosek, Daniel Skvor, and Daniel Sam
• Also competing in MMA where he is a champion in Slovakia
• Fought in GLORY’s 2019 Fight of the Year versus Antonio Plazibat

Nidal Bchiri (19-4-1, 4 KO) | Morocco

• Nickname: The Soldier
• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Asdren Gashi (18-4-1, 9 KO).
• Is a Dutch & Belgium regional heavyweight champion.

Miroslav Vujovic (11-7, 8 KO) | Montenegro

• Making his GLORY debut.
• Facing Colin George (23-12, 21 KO)
• Balkan Kickboxing Champion & two-time WAKO world champion
• Coming in off a massive short notice victory over Polish legend Tomasz Sarara

Nathan Cook (7-2, 6 KO) | United Kingdom

• Nickname: The Axe
• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Anis Bouzid (45-4, 36 KO)
• Least number of pro fights in the tournament
• Known for his flying knee KO’s
• Is an osteopath by day

Sina Karimian (16-4, 8 KO) | Iran

• Nickname: Hero 
• Making his GLORY debut
• Facing Tomas Mozny (21-10, 7 KO)
• Multiple time champion in Japan
• Iranian kickboxing champion & multiple time world amateur champion

Nabil Khachab (29-5-1, 4 KO | 5-2 GLORY) | Morocco

• Nickname: The Tank 
• Facing Milos Cvjeticanin (11-3, 8 KO)
• The heaviest fighter in the tournament at nearly 160kgs
• Holds a win over Benjamin Adegbuyi as well as victories over Uku Jurjendal, Nikola Filipovic, and Lazar Todev