The fight sport entertainment industry is enjoying an unprecedented boom, producing mega-bucks. A young global audience is growing fast – hungry for raw, visceral combat sport.

Boxing is packed with more high profile pay-per-view events than ever on both sides of the Atlantic, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s leading mixed martial arts fight promotion, was sold to to WME-IMG two weeks ago for a reported $4.2 billion (£3.25 billion), having grossed $600 million in 2015 – and now kickboxing is making its move onto the lucrative world stage. It is about to stage the biggest fight in its history – a contest many thought would never happen.

The kickboxing promotion Glory, which is already shown in 200 countries, has the perfect match-up in heavyweights Rico Verhoeven, a young Dutchman who doubles as a sparring partner in boxing for world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, and Badr Hari, of Moroccan descent but now a Holland native. Hari, who has a massive following on social media, has had more than 100 contests with 93 knockout victories and enjoys a close friendship with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.