Two championship fights are on tap Friday, December 4, from Amsterdam in the Glory Kickboxing series. In the welterweight division, the Netherlands' Nieky "The Natural" Holzken will defend his title against his countryman Murthel Groenhart. The latter won a tournament less than a month ago at Glory 25 to earn the shot at the title.
The heavyweight title will also be on the line. In a rematch of a Glory 22 clash in June, another home-standing champion in Rico Verhoeven will defend his title against Romania's Benjamin Adegbuyi.
Verhoeven won the initial fight via lopsided unanimous decision. Like Groenhart, Adegbuyi earned his shot at Glory gold by winning a heavyweight tournament at Glory 24 in October.
Here's a look at the full card and predictions.
Holzken's Superior Fight IQ Will Propel Him to Win
It was hard to not be impressed with Groenhart's performance at Glory 25. He battled through Nicola Gallo and Karim Ghajji en route to the tournament win.
He had previously struggled to make the lightweight limit, but since he has transitioned to welterweight, Groenhart seems to have found a home. He's an active fighter who will pursue the KO finish early and often.
That will likely be his approach against Holzken as he seeks to make a statement and emphatically take the title. It will be a mistake.
Holzken is notorious for allowing opponents to wear themselves down early in the bout. He did that in August against Raymond Daniels at Glory 23.
Daniels came out like a house of fire early, but once Holzken had him timed, and his opponent had fatigued, the man they call the Natural took over. He stopped Daniels in that fight, and he'll likely finish Groenhart in the same fashion.
Verhoeven Will Outlast Adegbuyi
Few heavyweights have the size to match up with the 6'6" Adegbuyi. The champion is one of the few. At 6'5" 260 pounds, the chiseled titan doesn't possess the power that the Romanian challenger has, but his work rate and toughness should push him to a victory.
Adegbuyi will be especially dangerous early in the fight. He's going to want to turn things around from his first meeting with Verhoeven.
The champion's defense has been excellent. He'll keep Adegbuyi at bay early, only to take him out in deep waters late in the fight. Normally Verhoeven doesn't finish opponents, but he'll make the exception the second time around. He's been working on his striking with a pretty notable boxer, per Michael Stets of Nerdcoremovement.com:
We should see some of the results of that sparring against Adegbuyi. Expect a third-round stoppage win in one of Verhoeven's best performances.
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