Rise of Glory is the touted name for the collaborations between GLORY Kickboxing and RISE World Series. It was announced on the morning of Jan. 11 that the Dutch-based company and the Japanese organization will work together in key weight classes in the future.
Rise of Glory Kickboxing
In the press conference, RISE and GLORY announced an 8-man tournament for the featherweight division, unified rankings, unified rules, and more.
The 8-man featherweight (145 lbs) tournament is set for December and will include Petch, Chadd Collins, Jan Kaffa, Taiju Shiratori, Abraham Vidales, Kento Haraguchi, and two more positions will be filled during 2024. The two organizations also confirmed future plans for an eight-man lightweight (155-pound) tournament sometime in the future.
For these fights, the two companies have confirmed that they will unify their ruleset. Both are kickboxing but vary slightly on the rules. These differences include judging, extension rounds, catching kicks, and other items that need to be hammered out. GLORY and RISE will also begin a unified set of rankings for the weight classes they have in common.
The GLORY Kickboxing representatives, matchmaker Robbie Timmers, and executive director Maurice Hols, also mentioned that the Dutch-based kickboxing organization will likely begin expanding weight classes lower than 145 lbs in the future. This is where the bulk of RISE’s talent is, while GLORY has traditionally been focused on the larger divisions.
Timmers said:
“This initiative promises to deliver extraordinary kickboxing events for fans worldwide, marking a new era in our sport.”
GLORY and RISE have worked together before in their GLORY Rivals series which pitted kickboxers against each other from the two companies. The kickboxing organizations have committed to co-promoting with one another and sharing fighters going forward with the Rise of Glory moniker.
Matchmaker Robbie Timmers said on Instagram:
“The 65 kg division has a new home in the Rise Of Glory league. A great collaboration between [GLORY Kickboxing] and [RISE WS] with a unified ranking, only the best ranking fights on both platforms and a huge Grand Prix at the end of the year. Really excited to start working on this.”
Maurice Hols added:
“With this alliance, we’re not just witnessing a new chapter in combat sports; we’re setting the stage for the most exhilarating fights imaginable for the division. The fans emerge as the ultimate winners in this never seen before collaboration, gaining access to a calibre of matches previously unseen. It is a revolution in the world of combat sports, where the best fighters are given the grandest stage and the fans the most thrilling experiences.”