Glory 107
Chico Kwasi, the 28-year-old kickboxer from Purmerend, is the second kickboxer in Glory history to be world champion in two weight classes at the same time. He won at Glory 107 in Rotterdam against Donovan Wisse, who lost his middleweight championship belt after five years and seven world titles.
Tim Hartman
Martial arts reporter
“I did it! This one is for all those.” fucking haters,” shouted Chico Kwasi through the RTM Stage of Ahoy in Rotterdam. The kickboxer from Purmerend was already world champion in the welterweight of Glory and after Saturday evening he is also world champion in middleweight. “I did the impossible, people thought I was crazy, but I did it!”
The enormous euphoria makes sense. Until this weekend, Alex Pereira was the only person ever to hold world titles in two different weight classes at Glory at the same time. The Brazilian was world champion at light heavyweight and middleweight with Glory between 2019 and 2021 and, after kickboxing, grew into a phenomenon who also became world MMA champion with the UFC, the largest combat sports organization in the world.
And now there is Kwasi, the man who has done something that no one at Glory could do: taking the world middleweight title from Surinamese kickboxer Donovan Wisse. Wisse has been champion in that division since September 4, 2019 and was able to win his eighth (!) world title on Saturday evening. So that didn’t work.
Split decision
And while Wisse started well in the match in which two worthy champions competed against each other and immediately provided the spectacle of the evening. After five rounds the split decision However, the jury ruled in favor of Kwasi, the 28-year-old kickboxer who took full advantage of his height and treated Wisse several times with striking kicks and punches. A blow to the chin in the fourth round was particularly hard on Wisse, who left Rotterdam disappointed.
Wisse’s disappointment will be extra great because he was actually supposed to fight crowd favorite Bahram Rajabzadeh for the light heavyweight title. Wisse could have become champion in two divisions. But Rajabzadeh got injured, after which Wisse had to defend his middleweight title again.
While Wisse until recently dreamed of two world titles, he now no longer has one. Due to the actions of Kwasi, who did write history. “This is exactly what I had in mind. Disrupt his rhythm and walk over him,” exclaimed the double champion. “All those fucking haters didn’t believe me. I have always believed that I can do this and I am now showing it.”
With the championship belt around his shoulder, Kwasi knows what he is going to do next. “Walking around the street for an hour on King’s Day with my two titles, haha. No, I’m not going to show off. This title goes to my trainer (Mike Passenier, ed.). And what will be the next challenge? Phew, there is another Bulgarian (Teodor Hristov, ed.) that I have to get back, but maybe a rematch for Wisse. He deserves that.”
But first? “Take it easy. My leg is all swollen, man. I don’t feel anything now, but I think I will in the morning.”
Short circuit
A striking moment earlier in the evening occurred during the match between fighters Mo Amine and Luis Tavares. Amsterdammer Amine and Rotterdammer Tavares had fired all the necessary verbal violence at each other beforehand and after the first round, both kickboxers had a short circuit.
After the bell sounded (when fighters have to stop fighting), the two kickboxers got into each other’s throats, after which security had to enter the ring to separate the two. After three intense rounds, it was ultimately Tavares who stepped out of the ring as the winner in front of his own audience.
Results
Main card:
Donovan Wisse – Chico Kwasi | Middleweight world title
Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro – Nico ‘Big Sexy’ Horta | Heavyweight
Cem Caceres – Sebastian Lutaniuc | Light heavyweight
Mo Touchassie -Jimmy Livinus | Light heavyweight
Stefan Latescu – Iuri Fernandes | Light heavyweight
Nabil Khachab – Errol King | Heavyweight
Alin Nechita – Mohammed Hamdi | Light heavyweight
Luis Tavares – Mohamed Amine | Light heavyweight
Cedric Do – Mohammed Boutasaa | Welterweight
Support act:
Rade Opacic -Colin George
Deniz Demirkapu – Mohamed Hamami
Clayton Raven – Albert Ugrincic
Antonio Krajinovic – Valentin Knau
Michael Samperi – Said Kabil
liveblog
Chico Kwasi wins!
It is Chico Kwasi who becomes the second Glory fighter ever to hold a world title in two different divisions at the same time. He wins by one split decision from the jury!
End of game!
Big applause for both men from the fans in Rotterdam. This was by far the highlight of the evening. But who wins? Both men claim the victory. Both men climb the ring to receive the applause. We are waiting for the jury’s verdict. Exciting!
Fourth round
Chico Kwasi and Donovan Wisse are very evenly matched, but the fourth round goes unanimously to Kwasi. The fifth round could be decisive!
Third round
Yet Donovan Wisse again has three judges behind him in the third round. Tension is rising in Rotterdam. Who will be crowned middleweight world champion?
What a bang!
Donovan Wisse takes a punch to the chin. Chico Kwasi is slowly but surely taking over the initiative in the party.
Second round
Phew, Donovan Wisse takes a nice kick from Chico Kwasi, but he just misses hitting it on the head. Nice move Kwasi, who convinced three of the five judges that he won the second round. Wisse is therefore still one jury member ahead. It is very close together.
First round
No fireworks yet in the first round of the match between Chico Kwasi and Donovan Wisse. Kwasi, slightly taller than Wisse, tries to take advantage of his greater reach, but is not yet successful. Four out of five jury members believe that Wisse is slightly more dominant. But there are still four rounds to go.
Chico Kwasi – Donovan Wisse
Then it is now time for the match for the world title: Chico Kwasi against Donovan Wisse. Will Wisse become middleweight world champion for the eighth (!) time? Or will it be Kwasi who becomes the second kickboxer in Glory history to be world champion in two weight classes at the same time?
We’ll see now!
Tariq Osaro wins!
Tariq Osaro wins the match against Nico Horta by a unanimous decision of the jury.
Tariq Osaro – Nico Horta
Then it is now time for two heavyweights: Tariq Osaro and Nico Horta. They both qualified for last year’s eight-man tournament. At that tournament it was determined who would be Rico Verhoeven’s successor. Osaro was the towering favorite, but lost to the eventual champion, Mory Kromah.
Nico Horta ultimately did not participate in the tournament because he ended up in the hospital just before the tournament because his spleen had ruptured. Now he is fighting again for the first time.
Mory Kromah
Mory Kromah is interviewed, the man who succeeded Rico Verhoeven as heavyweight champion at Glory last year. Earlier in the evening, Croatian kickboxer Antonio Plazibat said that Kromah is not a rightful heavyweight champion.
Kromah is not impressed by this: “He has not won a single world title in five years. I already managed it in 1.5 years. He decided to run away last year…”
What a photo
Why Jimmy Livinus went to the ground earlier in the evening? Well, this is why…
This is going to be a pretty easy win for Cem Caceres this way. Also very necessary. Caceres has two defeats against Milos Cvjeticanin – Mory Kromah’s challenger for the heavyweight title in June – and is desperate for a win.
Knockdown!
Cem Caceres gets wings from the support of the public. Caceres – who won last year against Mory Kromah (Rico Verhoeven’s successor as world champion) – hits his Romanian opponent with a knee on the head. The Romanian has to recover from it for a while, but gets back up just in time. Just shy of a knockout in the first round.
Two more games
As mentioned, the main program will soon be between Chico Kwasi and Donovan Wisse. Who will become world middleweight champion? That’s what tonight is all about.
Donovan Wisse – Chico Kwasi | Middleweight world title
Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro – Nico ‘Big Sexy’ Horta | Heavyweight
Currently working: Cem Caceres – Sebastian Lutaniuc | Light heavyweight
Mo Touchassie -Jimmy Livinus | Light heavyweight
Stefan Latescu – Iuri Fernandes | Light heavyweight
Nabil Khachab – Errol King | Heavyweight
Alin Nechita – Mohammed Hamdi | Light heavyweight
Luis Tavares – Mohamed Amine | Light heavyweight
Cedric Do – Mohammed Boutasaa | Welterweight
Cem Caceres – Sebastian Lutaniuc
For the last time this evening we get two more men who want to earn a ticket for the eight-man light heavyweight tournament: Cem Caceres from Turkey and Sebastian Lutaniuc from Romania. With several Turkish flags in the hall, it is clear who the audience is for.
Mo Touchassie wins!
A unanimous decision: Mo Touchassie wins and immediately sends a message afterwards. The Moroccan fighter believes he has earned his place in the eight-man tournament.
In fact, Touchassie immediately shouts that he will become the next light heavyweight world champion. There is no shortage of ambitions and let’s be honest: his two knockdowns were exactly what the crowd was waiting for tonight.
Two knockdowns!
Phew, the lights go out twice for Jimmy Livinus. Mo Touchassie hits his opponent to the canvas twice. But he also gets up twice and so we go to a third round.
Mo Touchassie – Jimmy Livinus
Mo Touchassie – nicknamed Baby Badr (obviously referring to Badr Hari) – is tasked with waking Ahoy up again. He takes on Jimmy Livinus. This is also a light heavyweight match. Can one of these two men win a Grand Prix ticket with a spectacular match?
It is clear who the crowd favorite is: ‘Mootje, Mootje, Mootje’ echoes through the hall in Rotterdam.
Stefan Latescu wins!
The men who fight tonight at light heavyweight can therefore prove themselves and possibly get a ticket for the eight-man tournament in June. Stefan Latescu may win his match, but the question is whether he will get a ticket. The room is somewhat asleep…
