Global Fighting Championship was a Dubai-based kickboxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Fighters from around world on the roster included Badr Hari, Peter Aerts, Gökhan Saki and Zabit Samedov. It was considered as the biggest kickboxing and MMA promotion in Middle East.[1][2][3]
| Industry | Kickboxing, Mixed martial arts |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 2012 |
| Founder | Amir Shafipour |
| Headquarters | Dubai , |
Key people | Prince Amir Shafipour, Managing Director |
Overview
editEach event had a 4 Man Tournament in the heavy weight division with a winning amount of AED 1 Million. Along with the 4 Man Tournament, 7 superfights were conducted with kickboxers and MMA fighters from around the world. A total of 8 fight series had to be conducted, with each winner progressing towards the grand prix of $1 Million. The first series, took place at Dubai World Trade Centre on 29 May 2014 and featured Peter Aerts, Badr Hari and Stefan Leko.
GFC Series
editGFC Fight Series 1 [4] took place on 29 May 2014 at Dubai World Trade Centre, with Dutch Moroccan Badr Hari emerging as winner of the AED 1 Million defeating Australian Peter Graham in the final and advancing to the GFC Grand Prix. Michael Buffer was the presenter with Mike Markham taking over as Ring announcer and Michael Schiavello as the Commentator.
| Fight Type | Fighter | Fighter | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | Peter Aerts | Dewey Cooper | Draw |
| 4 Man Fight | Badr Hari | Stefan Leko | Badr Hari |
| 4 Man Fight | Arnold Oborotov | Peter Graham | Peter Graham |
| 4 Man Finals | Peter Graham | Badr Hari | Badr Hari |
| Superfight | Jaideep Singh | Fatih Ulusoy | Fatih Ulusoy |
| Superfight | Brian Douwes | Srdjan Seles | Brian Douwes |
| Superfight | Erkan Varol | Abbas Mollamahdi | Erkan Varol |
| Superfight | Gokhan Turkyilmaz | Vaughn Donayre | Vaugh Donayre |
| Superfight | Luke Jumeau | Hossein Mollamahdi | Luke Jumeau |
| Superfight | Darko Jeremic | Kamran Morovati | Kamran Morovati |
GFC Fight Series 2 [5] took place on 16 October 2014 at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, with Moroccan Ismael Lazar emerging as winner of the AED 1 Million defeating Senegal's Sem Tevette by TKO in Round 2 in the final and advancing to the GFC Grand Prix. Mike Markham was the Ring announcer along with Steve Patrick Moore. Moroccan Badr Hari was supposed to fight French Patrice Quarteron in the Exhibition Superfight,[6] but the fight fell through. Patrice Quarteron was eventually replaced with Lithuanian Arnold Oborotov. Melvin Manhoef was replaced with Sem Tevette days before the fight due to an injury. He still came to support his replacement who lost the finals to Ismael Lazzar.
| Fight Type | Fighter | Fighter | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | Badr Hari | Arnold Oborotov | Badr Hari |
| 4 Man Fight | Ismael Lazaar | Tai Tuivasa | Ismael Lazaar |
| 4 Man Fight | Mohamed Karim | Sem Tevette | Sem Tevette |
| 4 Man Finals | Ismael Lazaar | Sem Tevette | Ismael Lazaar |
| Superfight | Adrian Gîrlonța | Davoud Ojaghi | Adrian Gîrlonța |
| Superfight | Mohammad Mansoori | Luke Jumeau | Luke Jumeau |
| Superfight | Ahmed Amir | Hossein Mollamahdi | Ahmed Amir |
| Superfight | Erkan Varol | Jamnian Srikam | Jamnian Srikam |
| Superfight | Fatih Ulusoy | Srdjan Seles | Fatih Ulusoy |
| Superfight | Zabit Samedov | Jafar Ahmadi | Zabit Samedov |
GFC Fight Series 3 took place on 17 April 2015 at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium once again. The fight card included Zabit Samedov, Danyo Ilunga and Ismael Lazaar. Gökhan Saki made an appearance in the main event against Sebastian Ciobanu.
Controversy
editBadr Hari vs Patrice Quarteron was the much-awaited fight among fans for GFC Fighter Series 2. Due to Quarteron's unsportsmanlike conduct, he was axed from the fight.[7] Hari went on to say "About Patrice... he has been saying a lot about me. I don't care, I have been through those kind of clowns many times so he's nothing special,". Quarteron had made quite a hype about the fight across all social media platforms bashing Hari with memes. He was eventually replaced with Arnold Oborotov who lost to Badr Hari by KO in round 1.
References
edit- ^ "Strong under-card heightens Global Fighting Championship excitement". Gulf News. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
- ^ "$1 million Global Fighting Championship returns to Dubai". Emirates 24/7. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
- ^ "Badr Hari is Morocco's million-dirham man at Global Fighting Championships". The National. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
- ^ "Dh1 million for the winner of first Global Fighting Championship". Emirates 24/7. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
- ^ "Hari and Quarteron ready to rumble in the Global Fighting Championship". 7 Days in Dubai. Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ^ "Patrice Quarteron dismisses Badr Hari's GFC challenge". Gulf News. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
- ^ "Badr Hari gets new opponent for GFC 4 on Thursday night as Quarteron axed". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2014-10-15.