Mirko Cro Cop vs Sergei Kharitonov to Main Event Glory 17

Mirko Cro Cop vs Sergei Kharitonov to Main Event Glory 17
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Two former Pride superstars have verbally agreed to face each other in a kickboxing match at Glory 17.

Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic will take on fellow Eastern European Sergei Kharitonov in the main event at GLORY 17: 'Los Angeles'.

Glory 17 takes place June 21st at The Forum, Inglewood, California. Previous Glory events have been made available to UK viewers through BT Sports, however broadcast information for this event has yet to be confirmed.

Fighting for the second under the Glory banner, Mirko Cro Cop enters the bout looking to bounce back from a decision losses to Remy Bonjasky at Glory 14 in his home nation of Croatia.

A legend in combat sports, Mirko Cro Cop, is the only fighter in combat sports history to win and K-1 and Pride FC Grand Prix; he also hold the Pride record for most finishes with 16.

Having fought MMA rules under the Pride, Dream, and the UFC banner, Cro Cop returned to kickboxing in 2012, where he originally made his name, to defeat Ray Sefo in his return bout, before putting together a series of victories on route to winning K1 World Grand Prix 2012. Cro Cop entered the bout with a 22-8 kickboxing record; the bout with Kharitonov will mark the first time Cro Cop has fought in the US in a kickboxing fight.

Ranked at 8 in the Glory Heavyweight rankings, Kharitonov makes a quick return to the ring having recently lost by unanimous decision to Anderson "Braddock" Silva in the heavyweight "contender" tournament at  last weeks GLORY 16: "Denver."

A 25 fight professional mixed martial arts fighter, Kharitonov who holds notable MMA wins over Fabricio Wedum, Alistair Overeem, and Andrei Arlovski, made the switch to kicking boxing when he joined Glory in 2012. Since joining the promotion the Russian has put together a 2-2 record with wins over Daniel Sam and Jerome Le Banner, and losses coming to number 2 ranked heavyweight Ricco Verhoeven and the aforementioned Anderson Silva.

Also on the card is a 4 man featherweight tournament featuring former WEC champion Miguel Torres, making his promotional debut.

Stay tuned to KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest on Glory 17

Mirko Cro Cop vs Remy Bonjasky Official for Glory 14

Mirko Cro Cop vs Remy Bonjasky Official for Glory 14
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Glory officials today confirmed that Mirko Cro Cop will take on Remy Bojasky at Glory 14, March 8th in Zegreb, Croatia. The bout will serve as the main event of the evening, and is a rematch of a 2002 bout which Cro Cop won by TKO in the 2nd round.


Hometown hero Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic (22-7, 12 KOs) fights for the first time under the Glory banner having most recently won the K-1 Heavyweight Grand Prix in March.

Having fought MMA for Pride and The UFC, Cro Cop returned to kickboxing in March 2012, a sport where he began his professional fighting career with K-1. Since returning to kickboxing Cro Cop has since rattled off 6 straight victories.

A professional kickboxer since 1995, Kickboxing Hall of Famer, Remy Bonjasky (98-12-0, 36 KOs) has beaten a who's who of fighters including Ernesto Hoost, Melvin Manhoef, Gokhan Saki, Alistair Overeem, and Anderson Silva.

A three time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, Bonjasky originally retired from Kickboxing in 2009, only to returned to the sport in 2012. Nicknamed the flying gentleman which pays homage to Bonjasky's array of flying kicks and knee attacks, Bonjasky is 2-3 in since returning to kickboxing, losing his most recent fight by controversial unanimous decision to Anderson Silva at Glory 13. 

No other fights have been official announced for Glory 14, however a 4-Man Middleweight Contenders Tournament is expected, with Jason Wilmis, Sahak Parparyan, and Dustin Jacoby expected to feature.

Video: K-1 World GP Final - Mirko Cro Cop vs Ismael Londt (Full Fight)

Mirko Cro Cop vs Ismael Londt 

The K-1 2012 Grand Prix Final when down on Saturday night at Arena Zegreb in Zagreb, Croatia, marking the first time the promotion had held its prestigious World Grand Prix tournament outside of Japan.

The final saw 38 year old kickboxing and mma legend take on Ismael Londt in the final having, defeated Jarrell Miller - by controversial decision, and Pavel Zhuravlev to claim his place in the final, in his homeland.  His opponent Londt, a SuperKombat Heavyweight Champion, holding a 34-4-1 record, enters the bout having finished both his quarter final and semi final opponent, knocking out Hesdy Gerges in the quarter finals by flying knee breaking his nose and slashing his face with the move, and TKO'ing Dzevad Poturk.