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Today we’re gonna take a look back to last year’s greatest fights, best moments and give out awards in the Best of 2025 in Kickboxing Awardshow. In this year’s award categories we’ve got some familiar ones and new ones (like best haircut of the year).

2025 was a fun year of kickboxing, but not without its flaws. GLORY centered its year around a hugely convoluted heavyweight tournament, a switch in K-1 leadership, Takeru losing by knockout, Rico Verhoeven’s exit from GLORY, sigh.. But at the same time we’ve got some incredible fights like Mory Kromah knocking out Bahram Rajabzadeh, an incredible K-1 World MAX tournament, the return of Antonio Plazibat, Yuki Yoza’s immaculate aura, and so much more!

Timestamps
0:00 - Best of 2025 Kickboxing Awardshow
0:35 - New categories and rules
3:18 - Upset of 2025
8:48 - Craziest moment of 2025
13:15 - Knockout of 2025
19:16 - Haircut of 2025
21:39 - Breakout fighter of 2025
23:38 - Event of 2025
27:02 - Organization of 2025
38:56 - Fight of 2025
44:11 - Fighter of 2025
48:52 - Was 2025 good or bad?
49:49 - Giorgio Petrosyan retires
50:21 - What did you think?

Much appreciated! 🙏

#awardshow #bestof2025 #kickboxing #combatsports

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It's been a while, but I'm back.. sort of. Lots of things in my life changed this past year, which is why I stopped publishing regularly. In this video I'll explain how the channel will look like going forward. Can't lie, I'm pretty hyped about the stuff I'm working on!

0:00 - My life lately
0:49 - Reconnect with you guys
2:09 - New video's are coming 
3:58 - Trash talk in kickboxing
5:14 - Jkick aka Japanese kickboxing
6:18 - Yearly awardshow returns

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#kickboxing #combatsports #dadlife

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Is Heavyweight kickboxing back? At least that's what GLORY is trying to accomplish with the GLORY Last Heavyweight Standing tournament. With favorites like Jamal Ben Saddik, Bahram Rajabzadeh, Cookie Osaro and Big Sexy it's bound to be spectaculair! But do the 4-man tournaments make sense? 🤔

📅 GLORY 100 takes place on Saturday the 14th of June in Ahoy Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The event will be broadcasted on DAZN.

▶️ Watch GLORY 100 preview show (1/2) on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zgrgFaSA3XA
▶️ Watch GLORY 100 preview show (2/2) on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M-X2feaXo_I 

🎧 Kick Weekly with Tim Wheaton ft. The Kickboxing Nerd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRy7Qk0WCJs

0:00 - GLORY 100 Preview Show part 1 of 2
1:39 - Criticism on GLORY focussing on heavyweight
3:20 - GLORY Last Heavyweight Standing round 2
4:27 - Only 1 reserve fight is crazy
5:24 - LHWS reserve match: Iuri Fernandes vs Samuele Pugliese
6:38 - LHWS 1: Iraj Azizpour vs Ionut Iancu
8:17 - LHWS 1: Asadulla Nasipov vs Anis Bouzid
9:30 - LHWS 1: Final
10:28 - LHWS 2: Colin George vs Nico ‘Big Sexy’ Horta
12:53 - LHWS 2: Milos Cvjeticanin vs Cem Caceres
15:27 - LHWS 2: Final
16:58 - LHWS 3: Mory Kromah vs Alin Nechita
19:12 - LHWS 3: Bahram Rajabzadeh vs Asdren Gashi
19:12 - LHWS 3: Final
21:44 - LHWS 4: Tariq ‘Cookie’ Osaro vs Luigi Gashi
23:52 - LHWS 4 Jamal Ben Saddik vs Sofian Laidouni
26:55 - LHWS 4: Final
28:05 - Do the 4-man tournaments make sense?
28:55 - What’s next for the winners
30:24 - GLORY x RISE Last Featherweight Standing 
31:04 - Kick Weekly with Tim Wheaton

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#GLORY100 #kickboxing #combatsports

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This Saturday the promotion's posterboy Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven is returning to defend his belt against former Light Heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov. That's not all because GLORY is celebrating their 100th event with a MASSIVE CARD! 20 fights, 4 title fights, 4 one night 4-man tournaments, multiple superfights! IN-SANE! 

This was originally meant to be a two-parter, but with disappointing ticketsales they combined both events in one mega event. While GLORY isn't doing a two-parter, I will make it up for them since I am doing this preview show in two parts! 😉

📅 GLORY 100 takes place on Saturday the 14th of June in Ahoy Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The event will be broadcasted on DAZN.

▶️ Watch GLORY 100 preview show (1/2) on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zgrgFaSA3XA
▶️ Watch GLORY 100 preview show (2/2) on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M-X2feaXo_I 

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
4:44 - Stacked card with 20 fights (!!)
5:54 - From 2-day event to 1 day
6:47 - PPV model a good or bad idea?
8:36 - Two video’s
9:21 - Growing the channel
9:46 - Life as a new dad
10:37 - GLORY 100
11:28 - Berjan Peposhi vs Deniz Demirkapu
12:52 - Serkan Ozcaglayan vs Mohamed Touchassie
15:26 - Why is this fight on catchweight?
16:28 - Mesud Selimovic vs Iliass Hammouche
17:41 - Petch vs Miguel Trindade a banger in disguise
21:04 - Could Michael Boapeah beat Donovan Wisse?
24:25 - Finally Tarik Khbabez vs Sergej Maslobojev meet again
30:36 - Why Rico Verhoeven vs Artem Vakhitov makes sense
36:21 - Will Rico Verhoeven retire after GLORY 100?

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#GLORY100 #kickboxing #combatsports

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Today I analyse and predict GLORY 99, the Last Heavyweight Standing 32-man tournament. Fan favorites like Jamal Ben Saddik and Bahram Rajabzadeh participate as well as new faces like Rade Opacic and Ahmed Krnjić. I also talk about the GLORY 100 announcements; Rico Verhoeven vs Artem Vakhitov and Tarik Khbabez vs Sergej Maslobojev and GLORY’s return to the USA for their new format GLORY Underground, headlined by Chico Kwasi vs Tyjani Beztati. Last but not least, we have to talk about ONE 172, because I was COMPLETELY wrong haha!

📅 GLORY 99 Last Heavyweight Standing 32-man tournament takes place on Saturday the 5th of April in Ahoy Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

▶️ : https://youtu.be/ceQocI883j8
▶️ : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Xdm-AMxYo

Timestamps
0:00 - Rodtang knocks out Takeru
0:53 - Surprises make kickboxing good
1:16 - Chatri downplaying Jonathan Di Bella performance
2:05 - Masaaki Noiri DESTROYED Tawanchai
4:01 - Tournaments are bound for spectacle
6:04 - How does the GLORY Last Heavyweight Standing tournament work?
7:31 - Will Rico Verhoeven join the tournament?
8:25 - Rico vs Ngannou?
08:54 - GLORY 100 Rico Verhoeven vs Artem Vakhitov
11:09 - GLORY 100 Tarik Khbabez vs Sergej Maslobojev
12:18 - The purpose of this tournament
13:26 - GLORY 99 on DAZN
14:15 - Petr Romankevich (Belarus) vs Luigi Gashi (Albania)
15:13 - Nathan Cook (United Kingdom) vs Anis Bouzid (Morocco)
16:16 - Miroslav Vujovic (Montenegro) vs Colin George (Suriname)
17:11 - Asdren Gashi (Albania) vs Nidal Bchiri (Morocco)
18:35 - Yuri Farcaș (Romania) vs Iraj Azizpour (Iran)
19:48 - Ionuț Iancu (Romania) vs Cihad Kepenek (Turkey)
21:25 - Alin Nechita (Romania) vs Ahmed Krnjić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
23:08 - Sina Karimian (Iran) vs Tomáš Možný (Slovakia)
25:58 - Nicolas Wamba (France) vs Mory Kromah (Guinea)
27:07 - Asadulla Nasipov (Russia) vs Murat Aygün (Turkey)
28:30 - Sofian Laidouni (France) vs Oleg Pryimachov (Ukraine)
29:34 - Nabil Khachab (Morocco) vs Miloš Cvjetićanin (Serbia)
31:39 - Rade Opačić (Serbia) vs Nico Pereira Horta (Cape Verde)
33:28 - Tariq Cookie Osaro (Nigeria) vs Benjamin Adegbuyi (Romania)
34:59 - Bahram Rajabzadeh (Azerbaijan) vs Brian Douwes (Netherlands)
36:26 - Jamal Ben Saddik (Morocco) vs Cristian Ristea (Romania)
37:31 - GLORY building a new Heavyweight division
38:46 - GLORY Underground Miami
42:54 - What’s next for me

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#GLORY99 #GLORY100 #GLORYUnderground #ONE172 #kickboxing #combatsports

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Rico Verhoeven and Badr Hari are THE biggest stars in kickboxing right now. With them at the tail end of their careers I asked myself: “How does the kickboxing landscape look like after Rico and Badr inevitably retire?” Who will follow in their footsteps? But wait, why are there just two big kickboxing superstars? With Rico and Badr on their way out, kickboxing is in dire need of new superstars. But how are superstars built? 🤔

Wow! 🤩 This is my 100th video on the channel! Can’t express my gratitude of your support during the years. I appreciate each and every one of you who followed me on my journey as a guy who talks about kickboxing and spends way too much time editing these video’s. MASSIVE THANK YOU! ☺️

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Timestamps
0:00 - The most important fight in modern kickboxing history
2:58 - History of the Heavyweight division
4:58 - Comparing Rico Verhoeven with K-1 legends
5:47 - The decline of heavyweight kickboxing (?)
7:13 - Stars regardless of weight class (Tenshin Nasukawa vs Takeru)
7:52 - Why kickboxing still feels like a niche
8:34 - The future of kickboxing after Rico and Badr retire
9:06 - Storytelling is everything
11:09 - Make the fans care

#ricoverhoeven #badrhari #kickboxing #glorykickboxing #k1 #combatsports

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It’s time to get your jkick fix! In this video, I preview ONE 172 Japan, featuring the highly anticipated showdown between kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa and Muay Thai phenom Rodtang.

But that’s not all, this stacked card also includes:
🥊 Marat Grigorian vs Kaito Ono – A battle between a former GLORY champ and a Shootboxing/RISE champion.
🥊 Tawanchai vs Masaaki Noiri – The return to kickboxing for the Thai sensation against a former K-1 champ.
🥊 Hiroki Akimoto vs John Lineker – The former ONE Bantamweight champ aims to return to form vs the UFC veteran.

Some say this might be the best card in ONE Championship history. 

Plus, I’ll explain why I haven’t been posting consistently over the last couple of months.

📅 ONE 172 takes place on Sunday 23rd of March in the Super Saitama Arena

▶️ : https://youtu.be/ceQocI883j8

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - Story about my time in Japan
1:58 - ONE 172 Japan
5:44 - Hiroki Akimoto vs John Lineker
7:27 - Marat Grigorian vs Kaito Ono
10:28 - Tawanchai vs Masaaki Noiri
16:37 - Takeru vs Rodtang
21:32 - The future of kickboxing in ONE Championship
23:13 - Why I haven’t been posting consistently

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#ONE172 #takeru #rodtang #kickboxing #OneChampionship #k1 #combatsports

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Fans have been frustrated with excessive clinching in kickboxing and there has been a lot of discussions on how ‘damage’ is scored. GLORY introduced changes in their rules to settle these discussions for once and for all. Also, did you know that non-GLORY fights can affect the official GLORY rankings?

► Buakaw: https://youtu.be/u6Xdm-AMxYo 

► Best of 2024 / Awardshow: https://youtu.be/OoN0sBsSk_c 

Timestamps

0:00 - GLORY changed their rules

1:17 - Rule 1 - New clinching rule

5:32 - Rule 2 - GLORY defines ‘damage’

8:42 - Bonus rule - Impact of non-GLORY fights on rankings

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#kickboxing #combatsports #glorykickboxing #newrule #muaythai #GLORY98

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In 2024 a lot has happened. GLORY brought back the Grand Prix and dropped the 70kg division, while K-1 brought back K-1 MAX. It was arguably the best era for Featherweight and Light Heavyweight. With established fighters like Rico Verhoeven, Petch and Akihiro Kaneko showing why they are one of the best. And the future looks bright with upcoming fighters like Bahram Rajabzadeh, Miguel Trindade and Kacper Muszynski. What a year it has been! But was 2024 actually a good year for kickboxing? 

In this video I talk about the VERY BEST (and the not so best) kickboxing of 2024. Like every year I give out awards for those who I think deserved it the most. Enjoy!

Timestamps
0:00 - Best wishes to you all
1:20 - The past and future of THIS channel
4:43 - Did GLORY impress or disappoint?
9:28 - K-1 had an interesting year
11:16 - RISE grows steadily
12:20 - ONE Championship is just ehh
14:05 - The Kickboxing Nerd Awardshow 2024
16:29 - Knockout of the year
19:55 - Upset of the year
24:58 - Upcoming fighter of the year
28:10 - Event of the year
30:15 - Organization of the year
32:08 - Fight of the year
38:02 - Fighter of the year

#kickboxing #combatsports #glorykickboxing #k1 #jkick #onechampionship #awardshow

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I am The Kickboxing Nerd.

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The Featherweight Grand Prix is considered by many as possibly the best tournament of the year! In a unique collaboration between GLORY and RISE Japan, they will bring the best 65kg fighters of the world together in an 8-man tournament. The winner can call himself the best featherweight kickboxer of 2024! This event takes place on Saturday 21 December in Chiba, Japan. 

In this video I also talk about why I changed the name of this channel. Enjoy! 

Timestamps
0:00 - Why I changed the name
1:27 - Better quality content
2:23 - GLORY x RISE 65kg Grand Prix
3:32 - History between these fighters
5:20 - Brackets GLORY vs RISE
6:14 - Quarter-final 1: Petch vs Taiju Shiratori
8:21 - Quarter-final 2: Berjan Peposhi vs Lee Sung-Hyun
10:09 - Quarter-final 3: Abraham Vidales vs Chadd Collins
12:07 - Quarter-final 4: Miguel Trindade vs Kent Haraguchi
14:27 - Reserve fight: Jan Kaffa vs Yutaro Asahi
15:42 - Semi-final 1 vs 2
17:05 - Semi-final 3 vs 4 
18:56 - Final
20:03 - Future of the Featherweight division
21:57 - Where to watch

#kickboxing #combatsports #GLORY97 #GLORY_RISE_GP

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I am The Kickboxing Nerd.

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