Global Fighting Championship
IndustryKickboxing, Mixed martial arts
FoundedApril 2012
FounderAmir Shafipour
Headquarters
Dubai
,
Key people
Prince Amir Shafipour, Managing Director

Global Fighting Championship was a Dubai-based kickboxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Fighters from around world on the roster included Badr Hari, Peter Aerts, Gökhan Saki and Zabit Samedov. It was considered as the biggest kickboxing and MMA promotion in Middle East.[1][2][3]

Overview

Each event had a 4 Man Tournament in the heavy weight division with a winning amount of AED 1 Million. Along with the 4 Man Tournament, 7 superfights were conducted with kickboxers and MMA fighters from around the world. A total of 8 fight series had to be conducted, with each winner progressing towards the grand prix of $1 Million. The first series, took place at Dubai World Trade Centre on 29 May 2014 and featured Peter Aerts, Badr Hari and Stefan Leko.

GFC Series

GFC Fight Series 1 [4] took place on 29 May 2014 at Dubai World Trade Centre, with Dutch Moroccan Badr Hari emerging as winner of the AED 1 Million defeating Australian Peter Graham in the final and advancing to the GFC Grand Prix. Michael Buffer was the presenter with Mike Markham taking over as Ring announcer and Michael Schiavello as the Commentator.

Fight Type Fighter Fighter Winner
ExhibitionPeter AertsDewey CooperDraw
4 Man FightBadr HariStefan LekoBadr Hari
4 Man FightArnold OborotovPeter GrahamPeter Graham
4 Man FinalsPeter GrahamBadr HariBadr Hari
SuperfightJaideep SinghFatih UlusoyFatih Ulusoy
SuperfightBrian DouwesSrdjan SelesBrian Douwes
SuperfightErkan VarolAbbas MollamahdiErkan Varol
SuperfightGokhan TurkyilmazVaughn DonayreVaugh Donayre
SuperfightLuke JumeauHossein MollamahdiLuke Jumeau
SuperfightDarko JeremicKamran MorovatiKamran Morovati

GFC Fight Series 2 [5] took place on 16 October 2014 at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, with Moroccan Ismael Lazar emerging as winner of the AED 1 Million defeating Senegal's Sem Tevette by TKO in Round 2 in the final and advancing to the GFC Grand Prix. Mike Markham was the Ring announcer along with Steve Patrick Moore. Moroccan Badr Hari was supposed to fight French Patrice Quarteron in the Exhibition Superfight,[6] but the fight fell through. Patrice Quarteron was eventually replaced with Lithuanian Arnold Oborotov. Melvin Manhoef was replaced with Sem Tevette days before the fight due to an injury. He still came to support his replacement who lost the finals to Ismael Lazzar.

Fight Type Fighter Fighter Winner
ExhibitionBadr HariArnold OborotovBadr Hari
4 Man FightIsmael LazaarTai TuivasaIsmael Lazaar
4 Man FightMohamed KarimSem TevetteSem Tevette
4 Man FinalsIsmael LazaarSem TevetteIsmael Lazaar
SuperfightAdrian GîrlonțaDavoud OjaghiAdrian Gîrlonța
SuperfightMohammad MansooriLuke JumeauLuke Jumeau
SuperfightAhmed AmirHossein MollamahdiAhmed Amir
SuperfightErkan VarolJamnian SrikamJamnian Srikam
SuperfightFatih UlusoySrdjan SelesFatih Ulusoy
SuperfightZabit SamedovJafar AhmadiZabit Samedov

GFC Fight Series 3 took place on 17 April 2015 at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium once again. The fight card included Zabit Samedov, Danyo Ilunga and Ismael Lazaar. Gökhan Saki made an appearance in the main event against Sebastian Ciobanu.

Controversy

Badr Hari vs Patrice Quarteron was the much-awaited fight among fans for GFC Fighter Series 2. Due to Quarteron's unsportsmanlike conduct, he was axed from the fight.[7] Hari went on to say "About Patrice... he has been saying a lot about me. I don't care, I have been through those kind of clowns many times so he's nothing special,". Quarteron had made quite a hype about the fight across all social media platforms bashing Hari with memes. He was eventually replaced with Arnold Oborotov who lost to Badr Hari by KO in round 1.

References

  1. "Strong under-card heightens Global Fighting Championship excitement". Gulf News. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  2. "$1 million Global Fighting Championship returns to Dubai". Emirates 24/7. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  3. "Badr Hari is Morocco's million-dirham man at Global Fighting Championships". The National. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  4. "Dh1 million for the winner of first Global Fighting Championship". Emirates 24/7. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  5. "Hari and Quarteron ready to rumble in the Global Fighting Championship". 7 Days in Dubai. Archived from the original on 2015-02-17. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  6. "Patrice Quarteron dismisses Badr Hari's GFC challenge". Gulf News. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  7. "Badr Hari gets new opponent for GFC 4 on Thursday night as Quarteron axed". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
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