Big news from Glory today - Badr Hari is back.

The highly controversial and highly popular kickboxer will be making his return to the sport in 2018, and he’ll be doing it inside the Glory ring. Glory announced that they have signed an exclusive multi-fight deal with Hari. His first appearance under the new agreement will be at Glory 51 Rotterdam on March 3. Hari has one prior Glory fight, a 2016 loss to Rico Verhoeven where Hari suffered an arm injury in round 2. He has been on the sidelines for a year since that fight.

Hari is a near 20 year veteran of the sport, and a callback to the old K-1 days. He was a two time K-1 GP finalist, including in 2008 when he famously was disqualified against Remy Bonjasky. In 2009 he knocked out Semmy Schilt and could have been considered the best Heavyweight in the world in the aftermath. Hari “retired” in 2012, only to return 4 months later, but his career has been strange in the years since, to say the least. He has had some pretty bad performances in recent years, and has only fought twice since 2014.

He’s also been primarily known for his legal battles during this time, stemming from various assault charges. Hari was sentenced to two years in jail in 2014, but between time suspended on that sentence, and time served while waiting trial, he’s already clear of that and legally cleared to return to the ring.

Controversy surrounds Hari, but there’s no denying that he remains an electric figure in kickboxing. No one in the sport today draws interest like Hari does, and it’s not even close. He’s a huge signing for Glory, and coming on the heels of an excellent year end show, Glory has to be feeling good as they head into 2018.