The evening promises to be epic. Between the arrival of Muay Thai legend Youssef Boughanem, the presence of the French Kévin Oumar, Bobo Sacko, Cyril Benzaquen and others Sofian Laïdouni, and the fight for the welterweight title between Endy Semeleer and Chico Kwasi, the Glory went all out. Nine months after its last visit to the capital, the flagship organization of world kickboxing has decided to think big, this Saturday evening, to restore the nobility of the discipline in France.
And what could be better than an enticing map to convince the curious to visit the Dôme de Paris? Ten fights are on the program, and they are all promising. However, there are still places on sale, the organizers announced during the official weigh-in. Proof that kickboxing is “in crisis” in France, as Bobo Sacko admitted during the press conference.
Touré and Laïdouni in search of revenge
The Francilien will open the main card of this evening. A figure in world Muay Thai, who has been shining in France and Thailand for nearly 15 years, the featherweight challenges the Spaniard David Mejia, with the opportunity to directly enter the top 10 in his category. Usually in the -81 kg category, Cyril Benzaquen, who is making his return to Glory after 8 years of absence, went down to the -77 kg category to face Soufian Abdelkhalek.
The duels will continue to intensify with the fight between the Frenchman Pascal Touré and the Moroccan Mohamed Amine. Beaten in his last fight, the Lyonnais can, in the event of victory, get his ticket for the lightweight tournament, scheduled for June. Sofian Laïdouni comes out of the heavyweight tournament, played on March 9 in the Netherlands. He lost in the quarter-finals against champion Rico Verhoeven, not without putting up a big battle.
Kévin Oumar’s enormous challenge
The legend Youssef Boughanem and his nearly 200 professional victories are also featured in this Glory 91. At 34, in the midst of his transition to MMA, the Belgian is launching a new challenge by joining the organization. “For the love of sport,” as he likes to say, he will fight the Ukrainian Stas Kazantsev in one of the most anticipated clashes of the evening.
Before the main fight, between Chico Kwasi and Endy Semeleer, who will compete for the welterweight belt, one last Frenchman will enter the ring set up at the Dôme de Paris. MMA specialist, Kévin Oumar is preparing to make a sensational debut against Bahram Rakanzadeh, second in the world at light heavyweight. The Azeri promised “an earthquake in Paris”, an announcement which did not raise eyebrows in the Ile-de-France region. Convinced of his chances, he accepted this fight while eight other opponents had refused to face the Rakanzadeh terror. It will now go to the developer.
