Verhoeven was initially supposed to face Croatian Antonio Plazibat in March, but the Dutch world champion was injured just before the announcement of the fight. The 33-year-old kickboxer hopes to be “fight ready” after the summer.
Glory will host a replacement bout for Plazibat against the winner of Glory 85 on June 17, scheduled for April 29. The winner of the meeting in June will receive the interim world title and will probably face Verhoeven later.
Glory has also revived the Grand Prix for heavyweights. The organization announced on Friday that an annual tournament will be held in December with eight participants, which will serve as a separate championship in addition to the existing world title. The winner of the Grand Prix receives 500,000 dollars (470,000 euros). The participants can qualify through Glory 85 and Glory 86, scheduled for May 27.
The Glory Grand Prix is the successor to the K-1 Grand Prix, which was last organized in 2012. The Dutchmen Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky, Sem Schilt and Alistair Overeem once won the event.
