On December 21, the world’s premier stand-up combat league GLORY Kickboxing will partner with RISE for an historic Grand Prix in Japan featuring eight of the featherweight division’s best battling for supremacy.
The official drawing happened this Tuesday with the four GLORY representatives being put against RISE’s best fighters in a bracket that will determine who is the best featherweight fighter on the planet.
The first quarterfinal will feature GLORY’s reigning champion Petch (170-40-3, 27 KO) and rising japanese star Taiju Shiratori (29-10-1, 12 KO). The Prince took part in the GLORY Rivals 4 card back in 2022 where he faced and defeated Ilias Banniss by unanimous decision. Petch last appeared in the GLORY ring in July, defending his featherweight title against Kento Haraguchi at GLORY 93.
In the second quarterfinal of the evening, Berjan Peposhi (30-4, 16 KO) will face The Korean Monster Lee Sung-hyun (59-11-2, 18 KO). Peposhi is riding a 5 fight win streak and has always delivered some of the most exciting fights in the promotion. He will need all the tools at his disposal to beat the Korean veteran who recently avenged his loss against Ryota Nakano and is looking at this Grand Prix as an opportunity to prove that he is still among the very best in the world.
On the other side of the bracket, number 2 ranked GLORY fighter Abraham Vidales (16-3, 13 KO) is facing the current RISE Super Lightweight World Champion Chadd Collins (63-19-2, 32 KO). The Australian was also part of the GLORY Rivals 4 card where he defeated Hiroki Kasahara by unanimous decision. The Shark is eyeing a potential semifinal showdown against Miguel Trindade which would give him the opportunity to avenge his defeat against the Portuguese fighter that occurred in March. He is not the only one that wants a piece of El Unico however as Abraham Vidales was defeated by Trindade back at GLORY 93 and he will be eager to avenge his loss.
But for Miguel Trindade (59-6, 24 KO) to go through the semifinals, he would first have to face and beat Japanese prodigy Kento Haraguchi (25-4-1, 14 KO) in the last quarterfinal of the evening. The Japanese fighter fell short against Petch back in July for the third time but this Grand Prix is a different setting in which he hopes to shine. For Trindade, this Grand Prix is the opportunity to build on his incredible momentum. Undefeated in 2024, El Unico wants to make it five for five this year and rise to the very top of the featherweight standings.
GLORY x RISE Featherweight Grand Prix Drawing
Quarterfinal 1 : Petch (170-40-3, 27 KO) vs Taiku Shiratori (29-10-1, 12 KO)
Quarterfinal 2 : Berjan Peposhi (30-4, 16 KO) vs Lee Sung-hyun (59-11-2, 18 KO)
Quarterfinal 3 : Abraham Vidales (16-3, 13 KO) vs Chadd Collins (63-19-2, 32 KO)
Quarterfinal 4 : Miguel Trindade (59-6, 24 KO) vs Kento Haraguchi (25-4-1, 14 KO)
11 PST