GLORY is finally the leader, joining forces with other organizations to pit the best fighters against each other. GLORY has announced the launch of GLORY Rivals, a new competition series starting in 2022. GLORY Rivals is a worldwide campaign to promote the best kickboxers and strikers in association with other top fighting institutions.

Time for a change

“It’s time for the best fighters in the world to compete against each other, regardless of organization,” said vice chairman of GLORY Scott Rudmann.

“At GLORY, we trust that we possess the greatest talents, and we are prepared to prove it. We welcome the challenge of any MMA, boxing or kickboxing organization that believes their fighters can match ours. It’s time to change the fight landscape and we look forward to leading the way.”

Series kicks off with Enfusion in Europe and RISE in Japan

GLORY has a proud history in Japan, starting with GLORY 4 on 31 December 2012, when the 16-man, one-night heavyweight tournament set a new global standard for combat sports. GLORY Rivals allows the world’s best fighting organizations to showcase their best fighters in new markets and create the matches that fans on every sports betting site crave.

The series will kick off with Enfusion in Europe and RISE in Japan. RISE CEO Takashi Ito made his own statement on the occasion, “We will develop fighters capable of fighting world-class fighters and increase the popularity of Japanese kickboxing! We will be holding matches of GLORY fighters against RISE fighters and other exciting events with Glory”.

Wishes of the fans have been heard

Just recently we discussed this very scenario with our GFN followers. It was about whether Rico Verhoeven really is the best fighter in the world, as well as fights against champions from other organizations. It’s nice to be heard by us fans around the world. All that’s missing now is ONE FC and other competitors and kickboxing could experience a real renaissance.

More details will be released shortly

As of now, no further details, other than the name of the series and the announcement of the first two events, have been named.

All in all, RISE’s talented athletes will now get a chance to face GLORY opponents, and with GLORY and RISE’s joint coverage, even more fans around the world will get to see the amazing sport of Vulkan MMA.

Many GLORY fighters have made their debut on Enfusion

RISE is the leading kickboxing organization in Japan with some of the best fighters in the world, including Tenshin. Many of GLORY’s best fighters have made their debuts at Enfusion, including middleweight champion Donovan Weiss and top fighters

• Levi Rigters;
• Mohammed Jaraya;
• Luis Tavares.

“We look forward to working with both organizations and creating new events together,” Rudmann continued, talking about the idea of joining forces with both promotions.

In addition to the partnership with Enfusion and RISE, GLORY is considering other global applicants, including organizations in the US and Brazil.