Glory 89 will host its latest kickboxing event from Belgium for the very first time with a solid offering for fans of the sport. The main event features a heavyweight contender’s bout between Badr Hari vs. Uku Jurjendal. Hari was originally scheduled to compete at Glory 88 last month in Paris but ended up forfeiting the match against TUF alum James McSweeney.
The forfeiture came as the result of Hari being unwilling to compete following a massive earthquake in his native Morocco that killed thousands. Badr took to the ring to tell fans in attendance, “People are fighting to look for corpses in Morocco, I’m not going to fight to entertain.” Glory announced during the broadcast that they would be donating the proceeds to Morocco to aid rescue efforts. The promotion would re-book Hari to face Uku Jurjendal bringing us to today’s Glory 89 card.
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Preview
Badr Hari has not had an easy road since signing with Glory. Signing with the promotion in 2016, his first opponent would be then champion, Rico Verhoeven, who would catch him with a knee in the clinch that broke his arm. Since he couldn’t continue, Verhoeven would take the TKO victory.
Next, he’d face Hesdy Gerges in a fight he went on to win, but a year later, the bout was overturned to a No Contest after a positive drug test revealed both men had banned substances in their test results. Hari would face Verhoeven again, and much like their first meeting, would see early success before an injury—this time, one to his leg—would take him out of the fight.
He’d face Benjamin Adegbuyi next, but would be felled by a head kick KO. Next he’d face Arkadiusz Wrzosek, and again he would lose via knockout. Hari would find himself scheduled against Wrzosek for an immediate rematch, but the fight had to be stopped in the second round and ruled a No Contest due to rioting in the audience.
Hari would meet heavyweight superstar Alistair Overeem last October in another losing bid, but Overeem would test positive for a banned substance, so the fight was overturned to a No Contest. To say Badr Hari has had a very unfortunate run would be a massive understatement.
Less is known of Uku Jurjendal and even his Tapology page is as bare-bones as it gets. According to Glory’s official fighter page, Uku is 34 and hails from Estonia. He carries a promotional record of 2-2 into this fight with Hari. He is ranked No. 9 at heavyweight.
Badr Hari vs. Uku Jurjendal live play-by-play
Round 1
Uku with a right low kick that nearly takes Hari off his feet. And another. Badr corners him and opens up but Uku gets away. Left switch kick for Badr. Badr with a body kick as Uku threw a low kick of his own. Badr feints and catches Uku with a left hook.
Right low kick by Badr. Right low kick followed by a one two for Badr. Uku with a double jab and low kick. Uku with a straight left. Badr answers with a one-two. Badr down from a huge right from Uku. Uku rushes in and manages to put him down again. Badr beats the count and the bell rings.
Round 2
Big overhand right by Uku. And another drops Badr for the third time. Uku goes in with a left. Now Badr opens up and they are swinging hard. Badr’s left leg appears to be injured as he goes down from a big left. Fight over. Uku has beaten the legend.
Official Decision
Uku Jurjendal 🇪🇪 def. Badr Hari 🇲🇦 via TKO at :47 of Rd 2; heavyweight
GLORY 89 Quick Results
Main card
- – Petch (169-39-3) 🇹🇭 def. David Mejia (61-16) 🇪🇸 via split decision (49-46, 46-49, 48-47, 50-45×2); featherweight
- – Stoyan Koprivlenski (18-6) 🇧🇬 def. Sorin Caliniuc (11-1) 🇷🇴 via decision (30-27, 29-27×4); lightweight
- – Levi Rigters (14-1) 🇳🇱 def. Martin Terpstra (26-6) 🇳🇱 via KO (leg kick) at ; heavyweight
- – Uku Jurjendal (19-8) 🇪🇪 def. Badr Hari (106-16) 🇲🇦 via TKO at 0:47 of Round 2; heavyweight*
- – Bogdan Stoica (58-13) 🇷🇴 def. Luis Tavares (63-10) 🇳🇱 via decision (29-27×5); light heavyweight
- – Aleksandar Petrov (35-6) 🇧🇬 def. Karim Mabrouk (26-6-2) 🇦🇹 unanimous decision (30-27×5); middleweight
- – Mohamed Touchassie (15-0) 🇲🇦 def. Eduard Aleksanyan (18-5) 🇧🇬 via TKO at 2:00 of Rd 2; middleweight
Prelims
- – Teodor Hristov (15-3) 🇧🇬 def Eduard Gafencu (17-5) 🇷🇴 via. unanimous decision; middleweight
- – Dragomir Petrov (15-3) 🇧🇬 def. Chris Wunn (35-6-1) 🇩🇪 via split decision ; lightweight
Note: Hari vs. Jürjendal is still the headliner of GLORY 89, but it is now expected to happen at the start of the main card.
Start date and time
GLORY 89 takes place on Saturday, October 7, live from the Arena Burgas in Burgas, Bulgaria. The event starts at 8:00 p.m. locally, which is 2:00 p.m. ET | 11:00 a.m. PT.
Tickets
Purchase your tickets for GLORY 89 here.
Live streams
For the prelims, tune into the live stream provided for free by FITE.TV here:
For US, UK and Australian viewers, you can purchase and watch GLORY 89 main card through the GLORY FIGHT! app or FITE.TV for $14.99. For Canadian viewers, you can watch the event on The Fight Network. For the rest of the countries, please visit this page to see where you can watch GLORY 89 on Saturday.
The FITE.TV main card broadcast can be purchased and viewed below:
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