ALL-TIME GREAT REMY BONJASKY MAKES SUCCESSFUL RETURN TO THE RING, DEFEATS ANDERSON ‘BRADDOCK’ SILVA IN HARD- HITTING HEAVYWEIGHT MAIN EVENT BRUSSELS, Belgium (Oct. 6, 2012) – Three years away from the ring. Three years in which Remy Bonjasky had grown older while the new generation of prospects ripened and matured into the contenders of today. The question hanging over this fight was whether Bonjasky can hang with the prime young men of the heavyweight division – and the answer was “Yes.” Bonjasky hadn’t been offered an easy comeback either. GLORY had welcomed him with open arms but only if he was willing to test himself against a rising star and prove that he could be competitive in what is by far the kickboxing world’s toughest and most stacked division. And so Bonjasky found himself opposite Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva, the man who nearly beat the very dangerous Badr Hari earlier this year, at Vorst Nationaal Arena. Braddock’s name may not be as big as Bonjasky’s but, make no mistake, he is not someone who puts a lot of store in fame. A win over Bonjasky would have been enormous for his career and so he put his all into the bout. The pace was incredible from opening seconds, with both men hammering low kicks into each other repeatedly as they sought to slow the opposing man down. There were extended leg-kick trades several times as the pair went back and forth, one for one, until one of them did something to break the cycle. But by the mid-point of round two it was plain to see that they were each feeling the hurt from the strikes they had taken on the thighs, strikes which would have rendered a normal man unable to walk. The tremendous pace of the fight meant that by the second half of the final round both of them were showing signs of fatigue. But they did not slow down for a moment – Braddock wanted the big win on his record, Bonjasky wanted to prove that he was back as a contender and not just a marquee name. So when the third round ended, the judges had it neck and neck. An extra round was ordered. Bonjasky won it via superior cardio. He was marginally less tired than Braddock and he was able to be busier. It was a close-run thing but in the judge’s eyes Bonjasky had done enough to earn the decision victory. Braddock didn’t agree – he was certain he had won the final frame – but most observers felt he had run out of gas before Bonjasky had. “I’m glad to be back,” Bonjasky said afterwards. “I had to overcome many obstacles to get into this fight. Not only was it my first fight in nearly three years but just a few weeks ago I tore both hamstrings in training and was stuck in bed for a few days. I was actually going to pull out but I have a superb physiotherapist who was able to get me through it. “It feels great to be back. Braddock is what, 25 or 26? He is ten years younger than me and is coming into his prime. But we had a great fight and I think I showed that I am still relevant. Now I am going to prepare for the GLORY Grand Slam event in Tokyo this December. It’s the biggest tournament kickboxing has ever seen and its going to be harder than any tournament I have ever taken part in. I can’t wait.” A dejected Braddock afterwards took solace in the fact that he had faced a living legend. “When I was young I used to watch Remy on the TV, he inspired me to start fighting. So for me to face him in the ring is a dream, and I am happy with my performance. “Actually I think I won the final round and I think I won the fight but the judges didn’t so, what can you do? I will enter the Grand Slam in December and between now and then I will have done a lot of work to fix some things.” Pierre Andurand, Chairman of GLORY Sports International, saluted both Bonjasky and Braddock after the match. “We deliberately gave Remy a tough comeback fight because we wanted to see immediately that he was still able to compete at the highest level. “And he showed tonight that he can; Braddock is a very tough opponent and has now given two of the top names in the sport some of their hardest career fights. He lost the fight tonight but he gained a lot of fans and a lot of respect. He has nothing to be ashamed of.” You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife as Gokhan Saki and Mourad Bouzidi squared off in the co-main event. Saki has a legion of devoted followers thanks to his all-action style and his no-nonsense, almost macho attitude. Bouzidi is more measured in personality but also has a large fanbase and so the air crackled with anticipation. Nobody knew what would happen, except that blows of incredible power would be exchanged. Both have serious knockout power in their hands. Saki has a superb left hook, powered by a compact body that lets him drive all his energy and mass into the shot. There is more than a little of Mike Tyson in Saki: small for a heavyweight but with masses of power and a beautifully fluid style. Bouzidi isn’t as fluid or as fast as Saki but he is capable of knocking a brick wall out with one punch. It was a just a question of getting to land one, as Saki was in the driving seat very early on and had no intention of sharing. Indeed once Saki landed an earth-shattering left in the second, the fight became more about whether Bouzidi could survive being knocked out. There are no words to describe the onslaught that he endured for much of the middle period of the fight. Saki had a rabid crowd urging him on and Bouzidi was on wobbly legs. Wedged against the ropes, Bouzidi was eating full-force Saki left and right hands, uppercuts and body kicks as the Turkish-Dutchman hunted for the finish. Willpower and strength alone saved Bouzidi from being ended early and his display of heart won over even the Saki fans, who warmly applauded him as he left the ring having lost a unanimous decision. Nieky Holzken had his work cut out for him. Not only was he facing a legend, he was doing it in front of that legend’s home crowd. Murat Direcki had a hugely successful career and fought a who’s who of lightweight kickboxers before recently announcing his retirement to concentrate on running his school and training the next generation of fighters. But the call of the ring proved too much and when he heard that GLORY was planning to visit Turkey – his familial homeland – he had to be part of the company’s roster. So the gloves went back on and he agreed to meet Holzken in a 78kilo welterweight fight. Holzken has serious momentum building up, not least thanks to his body-shot KO win at the April event GLORY: Stockholm in his last outing. The fight was everything it promised to be, a meeting of two masters who were an equal match in setting and answering questions for one another. Combinations, blocks and counters were in abundance as the energy flowed back and forth in what was probably Fight of the Night. Such was their proximity to one another that they repeatedly bumped heads, though not maliciously. Durecki was bleeding badly from the scalp by the end of the second round and that prompted the doctor to wave the fight off in the interval before the third round. It was a shame that such a glorious fight ended that way but Durecki did himself proud. After the fight he confirmed that he will be back to training full-time in hopes of appearing on a rumoured ‘GLORY: Istanbul’ card. They call Murthel Groenhart ‘The Pretty Boy’ and on the basis of tonight’s showing, it’s not just for his good looks. His nickname used to be The Predator, borne of his dreadlocks and the mask he wore on the way to the ring. But since shedding mask and mane, Groenhart has looked beautiful in more ways than one. His opponent was Marc de Bonte, well-known to the Muay Thai cognoscenti in Europe for his technical precision and good number of knockouts. De Bonte recently decided to concentrate on kickboxing in order to make both big money and a big name for himself and this was his coming out party. Round one was superb. With a lot on the line, both men were ready to give it their all and the exchanges were fierce. But Groenhart’s brain was working like a computer and when he spotted a flaw in De Bonte’s defence – he sometimes dropped his left hand when throwing his right – it was stored away for future reference. In round two, the research came to fruition. De Bonte went to throw a huge right hand that would have caused chaos had it landed. Instead it barely got halfway – Groenhart launched a deadly knee improbably high, pulling De Bonte onto it as he did so. Jaw and knee met with a considerable thud and De Bonte dropped instantly.