5 UFC fighters who competed in GLORY kickboxing

Israel Adesanya went from GLORY kickboxing to UFC champion

Kick-boxers in the UFC are typically fan favorites as they have an exciting style and are capable of pulling off some incredible knockouts. In the world of kickboxing, GLORY is arguably the premier organization and many of today's biggest UFC stars have competed for them in the past.

Which all-time kickboxing highlight would you like to pull as an #NFT? 🤩 @GlorySmacks

We’ll start with a historical piece… 👀 https://t.co/j6bXs8gKXv

While it is usually believed that wrestling provides the best basis to then transition to MMA, trying to take down a skilled kick-boxer can be incredibly difficult. You only need to ask any of Israel Adesanya's MMA opponents (outside of Jan Blachowicz) for confirmation of this.

Here are five current UFC fighters who have competed in GLORY kickboxing in the past:

#5. 'Blood Diamond' Mike Mathetha - UFC welterweight

Blood Diamond did not win his lone fight in GLORY

Blood Diamond is one of the newest faces on the UFC roster, having only made his octagon debut earlier this year. He is a teammate of Israel Adesanya but despite being a decorated kickboxer, he only competed for GLORY on one occasion. That bout saw him lose a decision to Richard Abraham back in 2016.

Since then, 'Blood Diamond' has turned his attention towards MMA and impressed enough in his first three professional bouts to gain Dana White's attention. Unfortunately, he struggled in his debut for the promotion, suffering a first-round submission defeat to Jeremiah Wells.

𝔅𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔪𝔬𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨! 🔴💎

🇳🇿 City Kickboxing's Blood Diamond meets Orion Cosce at #UFC277! https://t.co/A4naD71nAv

It will be very interesting to see where 'Blood Diamond' will go from here. He will have the opportunity to rebound from that loss when he faces Orion Cosce tomorrow night. That bout is a hugely important one for him as one would begin to worry should he lose both his first two bouts in the octagon.