Even with the lack of MMA during the holiday season, there was no shortage of bloody brawls and brutal knockouts at GLORY Kickboxing’s latest event.
On December 21, Glory’s RISE World Series 2024 Final delivered a slew of highlight-reel finishes, perhaps none bigger than the one that Yutaro Asahi scored against Jan Kaffa in their reserve bout for the featherweight grand prix tournament.
At the 1:15 mark of the third round, Asahi caught Kaffa with a horrifying flying knee that sent the Dutchman crashing to the canvas. Somehow, Kaffa climbed back to his feet and kept throwing his hands until getting hit with another knee that put him on the mat for a second and final time.
While the finish did come with a hint of controversy, both fighters let their fists fly for nearly three full rounds before the dueling knees brought an end to the action.
As exciting as Asahi vs. Kaffa was, they were shown up just a few fights later when Sung Hyun Lee and Berjan Peposhi delivered a beautiful back-and-forth brawl that saw both fighters eat the canvas in the second stanza.
Lee went on to win the bout via majority decision but lost to eventual grand prix tournament winner Petchpanomrung Kiatmoo9 in the semifinals.
Miguel Trindade Shines at GLORY Kickboxing’s final card of 2024
Though he didn’t go on to win the tournament, Portugal’s Miguel Trindade delivered a pair of knockouts in the quarter and semifinal rounds that made him the MVP of the event.
Trindade got his night started with a brutal knockout of Kento Haraguchi after catching his opponent with a massive overhand right with one second left in the opening round.
He followed that up with a 62-second KO against Chadd Collins with a brutal knee against the ropes.
Check out a full recap of GLORY’s featherweight grand prix tournament below:
