The GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix has a new entrant as Nordine Mahieddine (25-18, 13 KO) is confirmed to replace the injured Antonio Plazibat for the March 9 event at the GelreDome in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
Plazibat re-injured the arm he broke last summer at COLLISION 5 and now the Croatian requires extra time to recover before returning to the ring. As a result, the number four ranked heavyweight Nordine Mahieddine will step up and take his place in the $500,000 eight-man one-night tournament.
The French Algerian was already confirmed to compete in a reserve bout at the Grand Prix following his incredible highlight reel head kick knockout victory in Paris last September.
Mahieddine joins the ‘King of Kickboxing’ Rico Verhoeven (60-10, 20 KO), Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro (25-3-1, 13 KO), Levi Rigters (15-1, 7 KO), Uku Jürjendal (20-8, 16 KO), Bahram Rajabzadeh (65-1, 58 KO), Nabil Khachab (26-4-1, 4 KO), and Sofian Laïdouni (35-2-1, 17 KO) in the eight-man Grand Prix.
As a result, Romania’s Benjamin Adegbuyi (35-7, 20 KO) will now face Turkey’s Cihad Kepenek (21-6, 15 KO) in the reserve bout. The winner of which could potentially enter the Grand Prix should there be a dropout or injury on the night.
In addition, there is an update regarding popular heavyweight Jamal Ben Saddik. After careful consideration, GLORY have decided that a return in March would come too early. As a result, Jamal will not participate in the upcoming GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix. There are current ongoing discussions regarding his comeback and an announcement will be made soon so please stay tuned.
The GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix will take place March 9 live from the GelreDome in Arnhem, the Netherlands. Tickets are on sale right now and available from GLORYKickboxing.com.
The event will be shown live exclusively on Videoland in the Netherlands and worldwide via various global partners. Please check GLORYKickboxing.com for full viewing information.