VIDEO | Riot Erupts During Badr Hari Fight At GLORY 80, Main Event Cancelled
GLORY Kickboxing were forced to cancel their GLORY 80 main event last night in Hasselt, Belgium – after a riot erupted amongst fans and event attendees at the Trixxo Arena during Dutch kickboxing icon, Badr Hari’s co-main event outing.
Hari, who challenger Arkadiusz Wrzosek, was dropped at the second round with just moments remaining in the frame, courtesy of a stunning switch, jump knee – but soon thereafter, a riot broke out in a section of the Belgian arena.
Attempting to avenge a loss to Wrzosek last September, Hari, who had dominated the pair’s first matchup prior to a stunning high-kick knockout loss, was dropped in the second frame last night with a massive jumping switch knee, resulting in a huge crowd eruption.
GLORY 80 marked the kickboxing promotion’s first outing since October of last year
Despite the best efforts from GLORY officials and even fighters, the situation continued to escalate with more fans pouring down from stands to arena ground level, as well as scaling seats and barricades, launching chairs, and drinks into the kickboxing ring subsequently.
In an official statement released by the Singapore-based organization, GLORY Kickboxing described the events that unfolded as “unsafe behavior”.
“GLORY deeply regrets that GLORY 80 was interrupted by people exhibiting unsafe behavior,” the official statement read. “We never condone or accept behavior that endangers other fans that come to our events to enjoy a night of top sport. Upon the request of the police in the city of Hasselt, we stopped the event after the 2nd round of Hari – Wrzosek.”
The event was scheduled to feature a headline bout between Jamal Ben Saddik and Levi Rigters, however, due to the crowd eruption and subsequent riot, the bout was shelved and the remainder of the event was cancelled entirely.
“We apologize to the fans who did not get to see the end of this bout and the Ben Saddik – Rigters matchup,” the statement continued. “Also to the athletes who trained so hard and did not to compete. Martial arts is a sport of respect and fair competition inside and outside of the ring.”
