GLORY 3 Rome tournament champion and pound-for-pound king Giorgio Petrosyan (right) is slated to take on Ole Laursen in Italy. Photo credit: Ben Pontier/GLORY

By Greg Boasberg

Giorgio Petrosyan, recently crowned the GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ tournament champion and widely regarded as the best pound for pound stand-up fighter on the planet, is scheduled to fight veteran Muay Thai champ Ole “Thundercat” Laursen in March 2013 in Italy where Petrosyan resides.

Petrosyan defeated three rivals in a single night at the GLORY tournament at the famous PalaLottomattica arena on Nov. 3 to take home a grand prize of $300,000. Comments have been made in fight forums as of late of Laursen having a “deathwish” being out of the game for six years, and taking his first fight back against an opponent of Petrosyan’s caliber.

Laursen has had a successful career in the world of stand-up fighting, going up against some of the best in the sport, but has only won 3 of his last 17 kickboxing matches. Fighting out of Denmark, Laursen made his professional MMA debut in 2006 and has had success competing in MMA bouts across Asia for K-1 Hero’s and ONE FC. Laursen’s last kickboxing match was four and a half years ago and now he will be going up against Petrosyan who is at the height of his career. You would think Laursen would take a couple of tune-up fights before taking on a fighter of Petrosyan’s caliber.

Buakaw Por Pramuk, another superstar in the Muay Thai and stand-up fighting world, has been receiving criticism of late from fight fans who have been closely following his career. Buakaw’s last five fights under the Thai Fight promotion have not been, in many people’s eyes, competitive ones.

Otherwise known as “Thailand’s National Treasure,” Buakaw has rock star status in his homeland, and has faced and defeated some of the best the world has had to offer.  His days fighting in K-1’s Max, or 154 pound division, made him a household name internationally. He has defeated the likes Nieky Holzken, Yoshihiro Sato, “John” Wayne Parr and Masato, amongst other rival superstars.  Buakaw’s last five opponents, though, have been nowhere near this caliber.

Buakaw has obviously solidified his spot in the Muay Thai Hall of Fame, but does he have to continue to fight the best in the world to solidify his legacy? Shouldn’t a fighter continuously want to fight the best out there or is it enough to just look good, and remain a major marketing machine for the Thai Fight promotion at this point in his career?

There were rumors circulating that Buakaw and Petrosyan would square off in a rematch in February  2013 for Thai Fight. Petrosyan’s manager issued a statement in which his camp’s appreciation for the fans’ interest in this fight, but pointed out that no agreement had been made for this rematch. The two fought to a draw back in May 2007 at K-1 Scandinavia in Stockholm, Sweden.

Buakaw’s next scheduled fight is against Vitaly Gurkov in the Thai Fight tournament finals on December 16 in Thailand. The fight will be on Thai TV Channel Three. Several free streams are available on the Internet.

Speaking of GLORY, the stand-up fighting league announced its search for new blood earlier this week.  The forthcoming “ROAD TO GLORY” fight series in U.S. several locations that are expected to be announced soon, will serve as a feeder system that identifies potential future world champions in America.  The winner of each ROAD TO GLORY one-night, eight-man tournament will be awarded a paycheck of $20,000 and a multi-fight contract with GLORY.

Legendary trainer and GLORY Ambassador Cor Hemmers has begun screening applicants for the ROAD TO GLORY series and fighters interested in competing in the series can reach him directly through GloryWorldSeries.com.

Finally, the potential TV deal for Las Vegas-based Muay Thai promotion, Lion Fight Promotions, which Full Contact Fighter’s “Striking News” reported last week, has come to fruition.  As I reported on Full Contact Fighter yesterday, the promotion has signed on with AXS TV, formerly HDNet, to begin airing live bouts with its eighth fight card at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday, Jan. 25.  No matchups have been announced yet.

About the Author:

Greg Boasberg is the founder & editor of TOTALMUAYTHAI.COM One of the most comprehensive Muay Thai & Kickboxing Media Outlets in the World with all the latest News, Interviews, & Pictures in stand up fighting.

About Full Contact Fighter’s “Striking News:”

“Striking News” is a weekly column offering the latest news and rumors in the world of stand-up fighting, including GLORY and K-1 rules competition as well as Muay Thai and kickboxing.