Rico Verhoeven (51-10) will face Jamal Ben Saddik (32-5) on GLORY’s year-end show, the kickboxing promotion announced on Wednesday. An exact date and venue were not revealed. However, the card is expected to take place in the Netherlands during the month of December, according to the press release.
After his victory over Guto Inocente at GLORY 39 back in March, “The Goliath” issued a challenge to the current GLORY heavyweight champion, which Verhoeven gladly accepted after entering the ring to square off with the the No.4-ranked heavyweight. The fight was initially targeted for May, but after Saddik suffered an injury, the bout never materialized.
The two heavyweights met in the ring for the first time back in 2013 for the “It’s Showtime” promotion. Saddik, 26, won the contest by TKO in the second round. Since that fight took place, Verhoeven, 28, has gone on to win the GLORY heavyweight title and become the best heavyweight kickboxer on the planet. Saddik, meanwhile, has posted a respectable GLORY record of 7-4, but has never earned a title shot until now.
Saddik is currently on a two-fight winning streak in GLORY (four overall) and has won his last two fight by decision over Ismael Londt and Guto Inocente. The champion, who has defended his title five consecutive times, is coming off a non-title unanimous decision win over Ismael Lazaar, which took place at GLORY 41. Prior to that, Verhoeven defeated Badr Hari by TKO at GLORY: Collision after Hari suffered an arm injury and could not continue.
The location and broadcast details for the December fight card are expected to be announced shortly.