

Hamady Diagne: Scary Brazilian Alex Pereira and Japanese sensation Yoshiki Takei were toe to toe until the very last minute for this one. We all wanted to wait and see if Takei would crush Surinyanlek, or if he’d show the same struggles as in 2018 encounter with another Thai in Yodbuadeng. Even if he had a strong start and sent Surinyanlek on the canvas multiple times, Take spent a large part of the fight circling for his life, trying his best to escape the furious onslaught his challenger was dishing. The kid is a wonder no doubt, and one of the most incredible tournament run ever, and went 5-0 in 2019, but that last fight probably sealed the deal for the winner, Alex Pereira.

The Brazilian started the year as the undisputed Glory Middleweight champion, fresh off 2 wins in 2018, a 1st round KOTY contender over his arch rival Yousri Belgaroui, and a dominant decision win over former champ Simon Marcus. Heading into 2019, Alex was known as a very good boxer with a fantastic left hook, who was improving his kickboxing abilities with each new showing. He also gained fame over MMA Fans because of Israel Adesanya’s meteoric rise in the UFC rankings.

After sitting out the early months of 2019, Alex’s first showing was in May, to defend his belt against one of his most harsh critics, Jason Wilnis. The former Glory champion held 2 wins over Pereira, the 1st one via stoppage, and was very vocal about the champion’s inability to kick, saying he’s not a kick boxer, but just a boxer who happens to kickbox. Well, it’s safe to say those comments didn’t sat well with the indigenous. Starting the fight aggressively with a spinning hook kick right off the bat, Alex stayed right in front of Jason throwing strong middle kicks, before throwing a huge high kick, which sent Jason flying to the canvas an opened a nice cut right above his eye. Wilnis barely beat the 8 count but was sent back by the ref, only for Alex to land a perfect flying knee scissor on his opponent’s chin. Game over. A superb beatdown.

Next up for the middleweight champ was a chance to flow the new combat sports trend, and become a two-division champion. The LHW champion Artem Vakhitov injured yet again, Glory matchmakers decided Alex would battle Surinam’s Donegi Abena fir the interim belt. Abena just lost a decision to Vakhitov in Paris in a lackluster bout. Even if Alex was moving up, he was the clear favorite to win, as he was more experienced bringing the momentum with him. Abena—only 21 years of age—had some very good wins on his resume, but was still regarded as a prospect who was not championship material yet.

The first two rounds saw Pereira showing off a lot of his new kickboxing tricks, including some heel shots to Abena’s things. After establishing his domination, Pereira managed to send Abena to the canvas with a splendid combination of kicks, punches, and knees. The Surinamese beat the count, but Pereira’s infamous finishing skills were on display yet again, this time with his trademark thunderous left hook that face planted the poor Abena. An absolutely frightening KO of the year contender in all of combat sports.