This past weekend saw the debut show from new kickboxing organization Qabala Fight Series, who staged a show in Azerbaijan. For a new company, it was actually a pretty loaded show, with Albert Kraus, Mosab Amrani, and more. Unfortunately, the biggest moment of the show is likely one the new company hopes to forget.
In the main event, former It’s Showtime Heavyweight champion and current #5 ranked Glory fighter Hesdy Gerges took on #11 ranked Glory fighter Jamal Ben Saddik. What looked like an interesting and promising main event on paper turned ugly very quickly thanks to Ben Saddik.
Just seconds into the fight, Ben Saddik caught a Gerges kick and knocked Gerges down, where he proceeded to throw a head kick at the downed fighter before jumping down on the mat to land some ground and pound. A brief altercation between the corners ensued, but thankfully cooler heads prevailed and the situation calmed down. Ben Saddik was, understandably, disqualified for his behavior.
Watch the full fight video of Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Hesdy Gerges above (or here if the embedded video will not play for you).
Unfortunately for Gerges, this is not the first time this has happened to him. In 2010, he was similarly attacked on the mat by notorious hothead Badr Hari.