Cedric Doumbe Dominates Yoann Kongolo to Retain Welterweight Crown at Glory 39
He lost to Yoann Kongolo in 2014 at JuraFight and then again in
2015 at Glory 22. But on Saturday in the main event of Glory 39 in
Brussels, Cedric Doumbe was able to retain his Glory welterweight
title by out-pointing his rival via unanimous decision, finally
getting that proverbial monkey off his back.
Kongolo (64-9, 46 KOs) rocked the champ late in the first with a left hook and nearly scored a knockdown. But aside from that short burst of firepower, the Cameroonian was too slick and defensive for Kongolo to land anything worthwhile throughout the rest of the fight. Doumbe moved perfectly and his head movement allowed him to avoid nearly everything the Swiss fighter launched his way. Once he seized complete control of the action, Doumbe repeatedly mocked Kongolo and showboated around the ring. The antics frustrated Kongolo, but he was unable to do anything about them down the stretch.
In the end, Doumbe was awarded a surprisingly lopsided unanimous
verdict. One ringside official favored Doumbe with a 48-47 score,
while the other four all had it a shutout at 50-45. Doumbe (66-4-1,
39 KOs) retained his title impressively and called out Murthel
Groenhart after his triumph.
In a battle that was about as close as they come, it was Thailand’s Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao who reigned supreme in the Glory 39 Featherweight Contender Tournament as he squeaked past former champ Serhiy Adamchuk via split decision. Kiatmookao landed dozens of nasty kicks to the Ukrainian’s body and legs throughout their three rounds of action, and the typical Thai attack was the difference. Adamchuk pelted his foe with a plethora of clean, crisp punches to the head, but four of the five judges were swayed by the thudding body attack from Kiatmookao.
Kiatmookao (156-35-2, 25 KOs) withstood an early surge from Adamchuk as his head was snapped back by a pair of perfect right hooks. But Adamchuk (34-8, 14 KOs) was unable to capitalize and instead had to trade head shots for body attacks. In the end, Kiatmookao, who toppled Russia’s Aleksei Ulianov (21-3-1, 7 KOs) on points in the opening round, was awarded the decision with scores of 28-29, 29-28 (twice) and 30-27 (twice). With the win, Kiatmookao will fight defending featherweight champion Robin Van Roosmalen for the title later in the year. Adamchuk out-pointed local fighter Nafi Bilalovski (17-4, 12 KOs) to get to the finals.
Tournament reserve fighter Wilson Sanches Mendes was not given a chance to compete.
Jamal Ben Saddik apparently secured a shot at Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven with a lopsided unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Guto Inocente (33-8, 17 KOs). Though the fight was not exactly aesthetically pleasing, the taller Moroccan landed enough low kicks and punches to keep Inocente coy inside the ropes. Ben Saddik (32-5, 26 KOs) had Inocente trapped in corners and against the ropes repeatedly, but he was unable to put the Brazilian away and had to settle for a judges’ decision. Ben Saddik pitched a 30-27 shutout on all five scorecards and after the fight, he and Verhoeven talked trash to each other in the ring.
Kongolo (64-9, 46 KOs) rocked the champ late in the first with a left hook and nearly scored a knockdown. But aside from that short burst of firepower, the Cameroonian was too slick and defensive for Kongolo to land anything worthwhile throughout the rest of the fight. Doumbe moved perfectly and his head movement allowed him to avoid nearly everything the Swiss fighter launched his way. Once he seized complete control of the action, Doumbe repeatedly mocked Kongolo and showboated around the ring. The antics frustrated Kongolo, but he was unable to do anything about them down the stretch.
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In a battle that was about as close as they come, it was Thailand’s Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao who reigned supreme in the Glory 39 Featherweight Contender Tournament as he squeaked past former champ Serhiy Adamchuk via split decision. Kiatmookao landed dozens of nasty kicks to the Ukrainian’s body and legs throughout their three rounds of action, and the typical Thai attack was the difference. Adamchuk pelted his foe with a plethora of clean, crisp punches to the head, but four of the five judges were swayed by the thudding body attack from Kiatmookao.
Kiatmookao (156-35-2, 25 KOs) withstood an early surge from Adamchuk as his head was snapped back by a pair of perfect right hooks. But Adamchuk (34-8, 14 KOs) was unable to capitalize and instead had to trade head shots for body attacks. In the end, Kiatmookao, who toppled Russia’s Aleksei Ulianov (21-3-1, 7 KOs) on points in the opening round, was awarded the decision with scores of 28-29, 29-28 (twice) and 30-27 (twice). With the win, Kiatmookao will fight defending featherweight champion Robin Van Roosmalen for the title later in the year. Adamchuk out-pointed local fighter Nafi Bilalovski (17-4, 12 KOs) to get to the finals.
Tournament reserve fighter Wilson Sanches Mendes was not given a chance to compete.
Jamal Ben Saddik apparently secured a shot at Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven with a lopsided unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Guto Inocente (33-8, 17 KOs). Though the fight was not exactly aesthetically pleasing, the taller Moroccan landed enough low kicks and punches to keep Inocente coy inside the ropes. Ben Saddik (32-5, 26 KOs) had Inocente trapped in corners and against the ropes repeatedly, but he was unable to put the Brazilian away and had to settle for a judges’ decision. Ben Saddik pitched a 30-27 shutout on all five scorecards and after the fight, he and Verhoeven talked trash to each other in the ring.
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