DUBAi It will be another intense night packed with punches and kicks as the Global Fighting Championship (GFC) returns to Dubai on October 16 for the second event of the series at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.
Hosted by Golden Cage Promotions and Events in association with Dubai Sports Council, the GFC brings together the best heavyweights in kickboxing with the champion walking away with a grand prize of Dh1 million.
Buoyed by the success of the first event held at Dubai World Trade Centre on May 29, Dubai is establishing itself as the ‘Las Vegas’ of MMA. The Moroccan fighter Badr Hari was crowned winner of the inaugural event qualifying for the GFC Grand Prix to be held next year.
Three champions
“Every GFC is going to have one champion. We need to create another three champions in the GFC series. They will fight for the plum in the grand finale,” said ‘Prince’ Amir Shafypour, promoter and managing director at Golden Cage Promotions and Events.
Hari will feature in a ‘Super Fight’ against Patrice Quarteron from France in the 10-fight card while Ismael Lazaar (Netherlands), Tai Tuivasa (Australia), Mohammad Karim (Egypt) and Melvin Manhoef (Netherlands) will battle it out in the main event.
Among the three kickboxing fights on the undercard will be a contest featuring Zabit Samedov of Azerbaijan and Jafar Ahmadi of Iran. “Samedov is the guy who knocked down Hari eight months ago. The winner will go to the next event of the GFC series,” said Amir.
“We are creating a step ladder progression. We also have two MMA fights and a WBC Muay Thai 70kg world eliminator title fight,” he added.
Amir, who was elated by the success of the inaugural edition, said: “The GFC in Dubai, I think, was one of the most successful events in the entire region. It attracted the world and If you go to social media you will hear people talking about it from everywhere. A lot of big name fighters are opening their doors to us and they would like to be part of the GFC and the UAE event.”
Explaining the difference between GFC and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he said: “If you look at GFC it’s a ring fight mainly focussing on heavyweight kickboxing. GFC has got highest prize than any organisation in the world. We actually bring value into the market. We are presenting UAE with an event as it’s one of the luxurious cities in the world and in turn we present best fighters to the world.”
