Famed Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist Melvin Manhoef is seeing some big things happen for his Netherlands-based promotion, World Fighting League (WFL). Bellator announced that the organization will reward the winner of World Fighting Leagues upcoming Final 8 Grand Prix, as well as the MMA Lightweight Tournament Finale, with a Bellator contract.
The events take place over two days on Saturday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 23 and are set to air on Spike Netherlands.
WFL is currently home to many of the best Dutch kickboxers and mixed martial artists.
Following an impressive combat sports career that spanned two and a half decades, including successful runs in DREAM, Cage Rage and Bellator, Manhoef began promoting fights under his WFL banner in 2015.
Most recently, Manhoef defeated Remy Bonjasky in the final bout of his kickboxing career at WFL 16. Manhoef was ranked the #9 Middleweight in GLORY Kickboxing with 28 of his 30 wins coming via knockout; the highest percentage of any MMA fighter with at least 15 wins.
Melvin “Marvelous” Manhoef Highlight & Tribute (SW)
Like William Prescott on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thewillprescott/ Melvin Manhoef (born May 11, 1976) is a Dutch-Surinamese Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, trained by Mike Passenier and fighting out of Mike’s Gym from Amsterdam, Netherlands. In kickboxing, he is the current It’s Showtime 85MAX World Champion, and in MMA he was the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight World champion.
Similar to renowned K-1 events, the kickboxing tournament on Sept. 22 commences with eight competitors who will need to claim victory three times in one evening to become champion.
The Final 8 Grand Prix kicks off with several explosive first-round heavyweight matchups, including Murat Aygun vs. Fabio Kwasi, Sam Tevette vs. Clyde Brunswijk, Andrei Stoica vs. Boy Boy Martin and Fred Sikking vs. Nordine Mahieddine.
Sikking vs. Nordine replaces the previously announced contest between Ibrahim El Bouni and Levi Rigters.
In the MMA Lightweight Tournament Finale on Sept. 23, Pieter Buist (13-4) meets Soli Abdeselam Mohamed (4-3), better known to fans as Sully Bull, in a battle to determine the victor at 155 pounds. Buist, nicknamed The Archangel, is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including two WFL victories, while Bull has also won his previous two bouts inside the WFL cage.
Melvin Manhoef vs Remy Bonjasky October 29th 2017
Melvin Manhoef vs Remy Bonjasky October 29th 2017 Topsportcentrum Almere – Holland Tickets available at: http://bit.ly/ManhoefvsBonjaskyTickets More info: www.worldfightingleague.com
In addition to the Super 8 Grand Prix on Sept. 22, the card will also feature Bellator Kickboxings Jorina Baars (44-0-3) in a highly anticipated superfight with two-time WFL World Champion Anissa Haddaoui (42-3-1). Fighting out of Den Helder, Netherlands, the 29-year-old Baars remains one of the most dangerous kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters on the planet, famously defeating Cris Cyborg in 2014.
Having earned gold in both professional kickboxing and Muay Thai, the Dutch-born Haddaoui looks to make a name for herself against a fellow veteran in Baars.
With the influx of opportunities across all combat sporting genres, it is refreshing to see a fight promotion owned by a person of color receiving an uplift to the global content distribution stage.
