GLORY 42 Paris and GLORY 42 SuperFight Series Cards Completed

GLORY welterweight world champion Cédric “The Best” Doumbé (66-4-1, 39 KO, fighting out of France) defends his title on home soil, headlining GLORY 42 Paris with rival Nieky “The Natural” Holzken (90-12, 46 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands).

Doumbé, just 24 years old, captured GLORY gold in remarkable fashion, ending Holzken’s four-year unbeaten streak at GLORY: COLLISION in December. That effort was followed by a near-flawless victory over No. 1 contender Yoann Kongolo at GLORY 39 Brussels, bringing his winning streak to 11 fights in a row.

Holzken, now ranked No. 3 in the division, has not competed since his first meeting with Doumbé. In the rematch, he looks to return to the winning ways that established him as one of the most dominant champions in kickboxing history.

An injury to Armenian-Belgian striker Harut Grigorian (44-10, 32 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) delayed his bout with No. 4 ranked welterweight Murthel “The Predator” Groenhart (65-22-3, 37 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands). Initially booked for GLORY 41 SuperFight Series earlier this month, this rematch from 2012 features bad blood and championship implications, as the GLORY 42 Paris co-headline bout winner will be next in line for a welterweight title opportunity.

GLORY 42 Paris will also feature a one-night, four-man lightweight contender tournament, with the battle-tested winner earning their opportunity to disrupt the dominance of GLORY lightweight world champion Sitthichai later this year.

In the first of two tournament semifinal match-ups, No. 2 ranked Russian veteran Anatoly Moiseev (16-2, 5 KO, fighting out of Russia) will take on Angola’s Christian “Bad News” Baya (57-5-1, 34 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands), who impressed in his debut for the promotion, a short-notice victory over talented Josh Jauncey.

Later in the evening, the Moiseev-Baya winner will enter the ring once again, meeting the winner of the other tournament semifinal match-up between high-octane lightweight prospects. 26-year-old Danish dynamo Niclas “The Destroyer” Larsen (46-8-2, 24 KO, fighting out of Denmark) offers Bulgarian newcomer Stoyan Koprivlenski a tough test for his GLORY debut. Undefeated so far this year, the opening round bout will be Larsen’s third fight in five months.

The complete five-fight card for GLORY 42 Paris can be found below:

Welterweight World Title Headline Bout: Cédric Doumbé vs. Nieky Holzken
Lightweight Tournament Final Bout: Winner of Bout A vs. Winner of Bout B
Welterweight Co-Headline Bout: Murthel Groenhart vs. Harut Grigorian
Lightweight Tournament Semifinal Bout B: Niclas Larsen vs. Stoyan Koprivlenski
Lightweight Tournament Semifinal Bout A: Anatoly Moiseev vs. Christian Baya

GLORY 42 Paris will be carried live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT.

Before GLORY 42 Paris, expect fireworks from the French-heavy GLORY 42 SuperFight Series card.

Representing Switzerland, recent championship challenger Yoann Kongolo (64-9, 46 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) prepares for a knock-down, drag-out affair against French veteran Yohan “Le Bucheron” Lidon (92-35-1, 55 KO, fighting out of France).

Kongolo, still the No. 1 ranked welterweight contender, was most recently in action against divisional champion Doumbé at GLORY 39 Brussels. Lidon, a multiple-time world champion in both Muay Thai and Kickboxing, replaces an injured Antoine Pinto in the bout.

Serving as the GLORY 42 SuperFight Series co-headline bout is a heavyweight tilt pitting French native Nicolas “Junior” Wamba (47-7, 21 KO, fighting out of France) head-to-head with Brazilian brawler Jhonata Diniz (15-5, 10 KO, fighting out of Brazil).

Two light heavyweight compatriots contend for the admiration of their hometown crowd when heavy-handed Zinedine “Good Boy” Hameur-Lain (57-15, 36 KO, fighting out of France), ranked No. 6, battles fellow-Frenchman Freddy “Crazy Horse” Kemayo (68-23-1, 47 KO, fighting out of France), ranked No. 7.

After vying for the lightweight title in December of last year, No. 1 ranked Marat Grigorian (49-10-2, 30 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) of Belgium bounced back with a knockout against Anton Petrov at GLORY 39 SuperFight Series in March. He looks to carry that momentum into a meeting with aggressive Antonio “Tornado” Gomez (50-8-2, 29 KO, fighting out of Spain) of Spain.

France’s Dylan Salvador (49-12-1, 21 KO, fighting out of France) made an immediate splash in the lightweight division, defeating two opponents on the night of his debut at GLORY 36 Oberhausen, followed by an admirable effort against lightweight champion Sitthichai at GLORY 39 SuperFight Series. He looks to make another splash at GLORY 42 SuperFight Series, throwing himself into the fire at featherweight. Standing opposite Salvador for this divisional debut is world No. 2 Serhiy Adamchuk (34-8, 14 KO, fighting out of the Netherlands) of Ukraine. The winner of this bout will be next to face the reigning GLORY featherweight champion.

Originally slated to face American Casey Greene, hometown favorite Jimmy Vienot (56-12, 27 KO, fighting out of France) will now be placed into a welterweight scrap with experienced Francois “Bang Bang” Ambang (17-6, 6 KO, fighting out of the United States). At just 21 years old, Vienot has quickly risen through the ranks, capturing WBC and WPMF world titles as a professional.

The complete six-fight card for GLORY 42 SuperFight Series can be found below:

GLORY 42 SuperFight Series
Welterweight Headline Bout: Yoann Kongolo vs. Yohan Lidon
Heavyweight Co-Headline Bout: Nicolas Wamba vs. Jhonata Diniz
Light Heavyweight Bout: Zinedine Hameur-Lain vs. Freddy Kemayo
Lightweight Bout: Marat Grigorian vs. Antonio Gomez
Featherweight Bout: Dylan Salvador vs. Serhiy Adamchuk
Welterweight Bout: Jimmy Vienot vs. Francois Ambang

GLORY 42 SuperFight Series streams live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT.

Tickets for GLORY 42 Paris and GLORY 42 SuperFight Series are on sale now, priced at €155, €100, €80, €60, €45, and €25. Tickets are available online at accorhotelsarena.com and in-person at the AccorHotels Arena box office.