Joshua Akingbade Vows To Bring GLORY To Ireland Ahead of Debut

Irish middleweight kickboxing star Joshua Akingbade has lofty ambitions ahead of his GLORY 110 debut this weekend at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Belgium.

Following an impressive stint on the European scene, where he amassed a 17-1 record with 13 KOs, Akingbade became the first Irishman to sign with the kickboxing giant. And like his famous fellow Dubliner, Conor McGregor, who made waves in MMA years before him, the corn-rowed crusher is on a mission to show Ireland’s striking acumen.

In order to do that, Akingbade has eyes on middleweight gold. Once he’s achieved that, he’s certain he can lead the Dutch promotion to the Emerald Isle for the very first time.

“100 per cent. Hopefully I can win that belt and bring GLORY to the 3Arena. I think I’d pack that out with the support I’ve got. That would be sick,” he said.

“I truly believe I’m going to take over this division and run it for many, many years. I’m still young, so there’s so much time ahead of me. I just need to keep dominating. I don’t feel like I need to put on a personality or some kind of act. I think I’m cool enough. I just need to keep winning and pick up the right opportunity.”

Akingbade’s signing with GLORY in August was met with plenty of fanfare. A destructive route through the European scene quickly turned many heads, as well as consecutive Grand Prix victories in SENSHI and Battle of Barock earlier this year.

Despite that success, the road to his GLORY debut has been tumultuous.

One week after his signing, it was announced that the deadly striker would lock up with veteran Regy Janssen in Antwerp. Soon after, the latter would withdraw and be replaced with a sterner test in Albert Ugrincic.

As fate would have it, the Bosnian would also drop out of the contest, being replaced by Spanish striker Alex Fernandez. In assessing the combined competition, “Bad Boy” feels Ugrincic would’ve been the fight he’d got the most out of. So as far as Fernandez goes, Akingbade’s assessment is that there’s a lot left to be desired.

“I think Albert Ugrincic offered the toughest test. He’s very experienced. I know he fought at 90-95kg beforehand, so I think that would’ve been a bigger fight for me to kick off my GLORY campaign,” he sad.

“Honestly, I’m far from impressed with Alex [Fernandez]. I watched a round or two of his recent fight and saw some clips of him in Muay Thai. I thought he’d be a good fight down the line, but now that I’ve actually seen him, I’m gonna murder this fella. I’m not impressed by him.

“He’s a decent lad, but I know how far I’ve come, so I should make easy work of this. I do want to take in all the GLORY atmosphere, so I will probably take the first round off and finish him in the second.”

Akingbade quickly built a lot of steam around the European kickboxing scene. Entering his last tournament in July at SENSHI 32, he knew he was on GLORY’s radar. That motivated him to put on strong showings, which he did as he dominated strong opposition in Ulric Bokeme, Ali Yuzier and Fabian Lorito to win the middleweight crown and snag a contract with home of kickboxing.

The two-division ISKA Irish champion learned a lot about himself from the trip to Varna, Bulgaria, and he admits imposter syndrome certainly entered the fray upon signing his GLORY contract. But after scouting the port, he believes he has a great opportunity at hand within his division.

As a flourishing middleweight, the greatest categories in the sport don’t lie amongst the heavier set lads. It’s the lighter brackets that thrive - one look at ONE Championship and Thailand’s revered Rajadamnern World Series will tell you so. That forced Akingbade to make the switch to kickboxing many moons ago.

On the other side of the coin, GLORY has made a name for itself in Europe with many of their superstars coming in the heavier weight classes. As a result, that’s left Akingbade’s middleweight bracket a little worse for wear with champions having to move around to make fights happen.

So with the 23-year-old’s promotional debut looming, the knockout artist intends to be the one to reignite the division.

“I knew I was going to win that fight [at SENSHI 32], I wanted to see if I was able to maintain the power in a tournament like that and keep the power until the end. I was able to prove that. I feel like I’m more trustworthy of my gas tank now,” he said.

“I believe I was on GLORY’s radar when I went to SENSHI, but winning definitely allowed me to hit them with a better offer. I was just sitting in work on my lunch break and had a text from GLORY. I rang my coach and told him what happened, and we’d agree after my fight at SENSHI on the numbers. There were definitely some moments where I was, ‘Holy shit, this is GLORY!” but I felt ready for it. I felt like I was getting better, so I backed myself.

“It all just reassures me that I made the right decision switching to kickboxing. There aren’t too many guys there fighting at 81kg and above in Muay Thai. I put my head down and worked towards ISKA and WBC, but when I switched to kickboxing I could see a clear plan of me going to GLORY and that’s looking very good right now.”

The Origins Muay Thai representative’s debut has already received plenty of attention in the combat sports world, and some outside of it. Akingbade has seen his name featured in prominent outlets and newspapers around the UK and Ireland, which isn’t typical for a kickboxer in 2026, and that’s fitting for the marquee middleweight he has become. The feeling is satisfactory for the Irishman, but complacency is not in his make up.

While he intends to reap the rewards for his work, he also sees the next 12 months as the time to cement his superiority and put himself in rarified air.

“It feels good. All the hard work I’ve put in is finally paying off and I’ve smashed everyone on my way to GLORY. Now that I’ve got a bit of hype, I just need to keep working, stay humble and get the KOs,” he said.

“I want to win this fight with a quick KO and get on the December card to get another in before the year’s out. But next year I want that belt.”