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If you’re a fan of elite striking sports, Glory Kickboxing deserves your attention. The Netherlands-based promotion has established itself as the world’s leading professional kickboxing organization, featuring some of the best standup strikers alive in full-contact, professional competition. This guide explains what Glory is, how it works, and why it matters for combat sports fans.

What Is Glory?

Glory is a professional kickboxing promotion headquartered in the Netherlands. Founded in 2012, Glory has positioned itself as the sport’s premier organization by signing the world’s best kickboxers across all weight classes and running major events in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. It operates under K-1 rules for most of its competition: punches, kicks, and knee strikes are permitted; elbows and ground fighting are not.

The promotion has broadcast deals across multiple continents, including ESPN in the United States, making it the most globally accessible professional kickboxing organization. Its events are produced at a high level with professional commentary, high production values, and a format designed for an international audience.

The Rules of Kickboxing Under Glory

Glory competes under modified K-1 rules. Fighters can score with punches to the head and body, kicks to the head and body, and knee strikes in certain clinch situations. Sweeps and throws are permitted in certain contexts.

Clinching is more restricted than in Muay Thai — when fighters tie up, the referee breaks them fairly quickly, meaning the extended clinch-and-knee work common in Thai boxing is minimized. This makes Glory fights tend to feature more explosive striking exchanges at range compared to Muay Thai competition.

Fights are typically three three-minute rounds for non-championship bouts and five rounds for championship fights. If a fight is close after the scheduled rounds, a single-round extension is fought to determine the winner, which adds drama and a clear mechanism to avoid draws.

Glory’s Greatest Champions and Stars

Rico Verhoeven — The Dutch heavyweight has been Glory’s heavyweight champion for over a decade and is widely considered the greatest professional kickboxer in history. His combination of size, technical boxing, and elite kicking makes him the benchmark every heavyweight kickboxer is measured against. Verhoeven is essentially the Jon Jones of professional kickboxing — a dominant, technically superior champion who has beaten everyone placed in front of him.

Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong — The Thai southpaw is considered the technical craftsman of the Glory lightweight division. His combination of technical Muay Thai with adjustments for kickboxing rules has made him one of the most technically sophisticated competitors in the sport.

Israel Adesanya — Before his UFC career, Adesanya competed extensively on the kickboxing circuit and fought in Glory. His experience there directly contributed to the striking skills he brought to MMA. His performance against Alex Pereira in Glory competitions is one of the most discussed backstories in MMA history.

Alex Pereira — The current UFC light heavyweight champion built his reputation in Glory kickboxing before transitioning to MMA. His knockouts of Adesanya in kickboxing competition created one of combat sports’ most compelling rivalries before they fought again in the UFC.

Why MMA Fans Should Watch Glory

Glory kickboxing is valuable viewing for MMA fans for several reasons. First, it showcases striking at the highest level — seeing what elite kickboxers can do with their hands and feet in pure standup competition gives context for understanding what skilled strikers bring to MMA.

Second, many of the sport’s best fighters have competitive histories in kickboxing before or alongside their MMA careers. Watching Pereira and Adesanya’s kickboxing fights provides insight into the striking styles they’ve brought to the UFC. The cross-pollination between the two sports is real and ongoing.

Third, Glory produces spectacular finishes. Kickboxing competitions at the elite level feature frequent knockouts because the rules encourage explosive exchanges and the competitors are the best standup strikers in the world. If you like watching fights end emphatically, Glory delivers.

Watching Glory

Glory events air on ESPN and ESPN+ in the United States, making them accessible to UFC subscribers who already have those services. International fans can typically access events through the promotion’s streaming platform or regional broadcast partners. Glory’s YouTube channel also provides highlight content and archived fights for fans wanting to explore the product before committing to a subscription.