Doumbe to Defend Title Against Kongolo at Glory 39 in Brussels on March 25

Brussels last played host to Glory five years ago but the wait is over. The world’s leading kickboxing promotion announced Friday afternoon that Glory 39 will take place at Forest National on March 25 and newly-crowned welterweight champion Cedric Doumbe will make the first defense of his title in the main event.

Doumbe (65-4-1, 39 KOs) scored a sizable upset at Glory: Collision in December by ending then-champ Nieky Holzken’s four-year unbeaten streak. He’ll have a tall order ahead of him when he takes on old rival Yoann Kongolo (64-8, 46 KOs), a man he has lost to twice. Kongolo, who hails from Switzerland, edged the champ via decision at both Glory 22 in 2015 and Jurafight in ’14.

Jahfarr Wilnis (30-8-1, 8 KOs) will stand opposite Jamal Ben Saddik (31-5, 26 KOs) in a heavyweight attraction while a one-night four-man featherweight contenders tournament, which will determine the No. 1 contender for the title, is also set for the event. No participants have been announced yet, however.

The Glory 39 SuperFight Series undercard will be anchored by reigning lightweight champ Sittichai (113-30-5, 30 KOs) defending his crown against Dylan Salvador (49-11-1, 21 KOs). Also slated for the undercard is Marat Grigorian (48-9-2, 29 KOs) taking on fellow lightweight Hysni Beqiri (49-2, 30 KOs); Hesdy Gerges (49-18-1, 23 KOs) versus Chi Lewis-Parry (8-1, 4 KOs) in a heavyweight tussle; and Karim Banmansour (48-7-2, 22 KOs) locking horns with Harut Grigorian (43-10, 32 KOs) at welterweight.

Glory has not revealed any details about the live stream start times for either card, which will be shown on ESPN3 and UFC Fight Pass.