Glory Grand Prix speculation & update thread

[K1power]

So in addition to G87 and G88, G89 in October will also contain a qualifier for the Grand Prix.
This takes the total number to 5 participants.

Not sure if they'll do a final qualification event in November, but that would make it kinda close to the GP in December.
I can imagine wildcards being used for the final 3 participants so Glory has more control over the tournament field.

[K1power]

The G89 qualifier will feature Levi Rigters vs. TBA.

[K1power]

I've edited Glory's own graphic a bit:



Edit: and again lol.

[K1power]

Terpstra getting another shot at securing a spot.
Guaranteed Dutch fighter in the Grand Prix.

[K1power]

So with three participants being decided and the final two qualification matchups being announced, who do you guys expect to receive wildcards for the last three spots?

I'm going with Ben Saddik and Plazibat, but have no clue who gets the last spot.
Rico would seem like the best and most logical choice, but he already said he doesn't want to participate.

[kbfan]

Rico doesn't want to participate in the tournament? Bummer, this makes me sad and a bit mad with him

[vampiro]

Is it worth it financially for him? He could probably make a lot just fighting once, right?

[K1power]

Aug 24, 2023 9:46:47 GMT 1 kbfan said:

Rico doesn't want to participate in the tournament? Bummer, this makes me sad and a bit mad with him

Yeah, he said something along the lines of feeling like it's a chance for other fighters to prove themselves. It's a shame, because the reason a lot of people don't like/respect Rico is that they feel he's is he's never won a Grand Prix or Grand Prix-like tournament. This would be a good chance for him to solidify his name but he seems more interested in being the Champion for 10 years, which he said was one of his goals before retiring.

Now that is a fine goal to set for oneself, but if you look at Rico's activity over the past five years, how much value do these 10 years have? Also, he lost to a relatively unimpressive fighter in 2015, which a lot of people seem to just ignore because it happened outside of Glory. But I digress..

Even if Rico wanted to be in the tournament, his fight with Osaro in November might leave both of them too injured to enter the Grand Prix just a month later.

Aug 24, 2023 11:47:20 GMT 1 vampiro said:

Is it worth it financially for him? He could probably make a lot just fighting once, right?

I think it is worth it for Rico. He may be doing well financially due to being one of the best paid kickboxers and having some sponsorship deals, but even the highest paid kickboxers don't come close to the top MMA fighters or boxers.

The Grand Prix champion gets 500k in addition to their participation purse and any potential bonuses. Even if you don't end up winning, just the exposure from being lined up should move you up the ladder to some extent.

Also from what I've heard Rico spent a ton of his own money securing a distribution deal for his film Black Lotus earlier this year. I'm not sure how the film did at the box office, but it sure wasn't a smash hit or anything. Any revenue stream would be welcome. Sure Rico will make good money fighting Osaro, but I don't think there's as much (potential) pay-off as entering the Grand Prix.

[Shadess]

Aug 24, 2023 17:23:20 GMT 1 K1power said:

I'm not sure how the film did at the box office, but it sure wasn't a smash hit or anything.

Pretty terribly. It didn't exactly release in theatres worldwide or anything either. Maybe missing some countries, but doubt there's any huge missing numbers.

Outside of the Netherlands at least, it's more of a movie that either makes it's money from VOD or it just doesn't make any money.


WORLDWIDE
$781,138

Lithuania $424
Netherlands $702,874
United Arab Emirates $29,738
Russia/CIS $48,102

[K1power]

Black Lotus got an investment of €1.5M from the Dutch Film Fund alone, meaning its actual production budget was probably a good deal higher.

Movies have to make roughly twice their production budget at the box office just to break even, so less than $1M pretty much confirms the movie effectively lost money.

It can still make money streaming and I've seen it available on several outlets like Pathé (Dutch theatre chain that also has a streaming service), but I'm not sure it'll make what's needed to turn a profit even over time.

Of course we may be missing some pieces of the puzzle here, but it's not looking good.
I'm sure Rico imagined things going very differently, but here we are.

Either way, Rico should be eager to fight again and make some cash.

[Shadess]

The tournament was postponed to early 2024.

Fighters qualified so far:

1. Osaro
2. Laidouni
3. Rajabzadeh
4. Uku
5. Rigters


Fairly certainly in as a wildcard:
6. Plazibat

Also most likely in as a wildcard:
7. JBS


Who will they enter as the last wildcard?

[K1power]

During the Videoland broadcast there was a moment where Remy looked into the camera and directed his words at Rico:

"You should enter this tournament. Looking at the field, you might win it!"

Remy was also critical of Glory postponing the tournament.

I understand why Glory is doing it, but I agree with Remy. The Grand Prix should not 'accommodate' the fighters. The fighters should make sure they don't miss the Grand Prix and if they do - for whatever reason - tough luck.

[lero]

Come on Glory, snatch Kryklia for this tournament.

[K1power]

I agree, as that would truly be a 'wildcard'.

Just don't think it can be done with the way ONE contracts are set up.

[Shadess]

With the last qualifier matchup having been announced now, the tournament will most likely be

Osaro
Laidouni
Rajabzadeh
Rigters
Uku
Mahieddine/Filipovic

and as wildcards
Plazibat
JBS