Badr Hari suffered a loss for the seventh time in a row on Saturday evening and is considering quitting as a kickboxer. The 37-year-old kickboxing icon had to acknowledge his superiority in Alistair Overeem at the GLORY event Collision 4 in the GelreDome Stadium in Arnhem.
By our sports editorsIn the first two rounds, Hari still had the upper hand, although he already received a hard blow to his chin in the second round. It went wrong in the third round. He got eight counts after being hit hard by Overeem.
After that, Hari was no longer able to turn the game in his favor. The Moroccan Amsterdammer faltered and went down again. In the end, the jury unanimously declared Overeem the winner.
After his defeat against Overeem, Hari took the microphone and told the public in Arnhem that he is thinking about retiring after an impressive career of more than twenty years.
Hari is a legend in kickboxing and has had very successful years. He won 106 of his 125 matches, of which 92 by knockout. He has already lost seven matches in a row. Since 2015, he remained without a win against Rico Verhoeven (twice), Hesdy Gerges, Benjamin Adegbuyi, Arkadiusz Wrzosek (twice) and thus Overeem.
It was the third time Hari and Overeem faced each other after 2008 and 2009. Back then, the icons in K-1 (GLORY’s predecessor) both won once spectacularly.
Overeem now wants a fight with Verhoeven
For the 42-year-old Overeem, his victory means a successful return as a kickboxer. He made a name for himself as an MMA fighter in the UFC in recent years. His last kickboxing bout was in late 2010. Against Hari, his MMA background was reflected in his unorthodox kickboxing style.
In the run-up to his fight with Hari, Overeem already announced that he would like to take on Verhoeven if he wins. Verhoeven has held the heavyweight title for almost ten years.
After his win over Hari, Overeem repeated that wish. He said – just like Friday – that he thinks he is the champion now, because Verhoeven did not fight this year. Verhoeven, present in the GelreDome as an analyst, then entered the ring to argue with Overeem. Their chat was cut short by Hari, who wanted to share his doubts about his future with the public.
Verhoeven is expected to return to action on behalf of GLORY in the spring of 2023. It now seems very likely that Overeem will be his opponent, although that has yet to be confirmed.
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