5 Things You Might Not Know About Badr Hari

Glory 78 “Badr vs. Wrzosek” is exclusively available on pay-per-view and can only be purchased online at www.gloryfights.com. You can purchase and stream the pay-per-view for €19.99, £17.99 or US$24.99 from anywhere in the world.

Badr Hari long ago secured his place among the immortals.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest kickboxers of all-time, the SB Gym representative will return to the ring for the first time in nearly a year when he confronts Arkadiusz Wrzosek in the Glory 78 main event on Saturday at the Ahoy Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Hari, 36, sports a 106-15 record, though he remains winless through three appearances in Glory. The 6-foot-6 Said el Badaoui protege’s talents haven taken him all over the world during his distinguished career, from Italy, Croatia and Japan to Belgium, South Korea and the United States.

As Hari prepares for his showdown with Poland’s Wrzosek, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He returned to his roots.

Hari was born to Moroccan parents in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Dec. 8, 1984. He now resides in Casablanca, Morocco, with his wife, Daphne Romani, and five children.

2. His skills are undeniably potent.

Hari has delivered 92 (87%) of his 106 career victories by knockout or technical knockout. His long list of victims includes Semmy Schilt, Alistair Overeem, Peter Aerts, Stefan Leko and Gokhan Saki.

3. One major trophy remains notably absent from his mantle.

A two-time runner-up in the K-1 World Grand Prix, Hari was disqualified against Remy Bonjasky in the 2008 final and lost to Schilt in the 2009 final. Though that prize has eluded his grasp, he remains one of only four men who have captured the K-1 heavyweight championship. Kyotaro Fujimoto, Antonio Plazibat and Roel Mannaart are the others.

Glory 78 “Badr vs. Wrzosek” is exclusively available on pay-per-view and can only be purchased online at www.gloryfights.com. You can purchase and stream the pay-per-view for €19.99, £17.99 or US$24.99 from anywhere in the world.

4. He lives by the sword and dies by the sword.

All three of Hari’s losses in Glory have come inside three rounds. Reigning Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven stopped him twice—at 1:22 of the second round at Glory 36 on Dec. 10, 2016 and at 0:59 of the third round at Glory 74 on Dec. 21, 2019—and Adegbuyi put him away at 0:50 of the third round at Glory 76 on Dec. 19, 2020.

5. Reputation provides him with some leeway.

Despite his lack of success within the organization, Hari remains the No. 3-ranked heavyweight in Glory behind Jamal Ben Saddik and the aforementioned Adegbuyi.