Jamal Ben Saddik (; born October 3, 1990) is a Belgian-Moroccan professional kickboxer. He is a former two-time Glory Heavyweight Championship challenger and 2018 Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament winner. Combat Press ranked him as a top ten heavyweight between September 2015 and July 2021, peaking at No. 3. In Glory, Ben Saddik was involved in doping controversies and was removed from the official rankings by the promotion in 2023. In 2015 and 2022 he emerged victorious in the bouts against

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...

and

Benjamin Adegbuyi Benjamin Adekunle Miron Adegbuyi (born January 24, 1985) is a Romanian kickboxer and professional boxer. He is a two-time Glory Heavyweight Championship challenger and three-time winner of heavyweight tournament. Adegbuyi is also Superkombat Wo ...

, but were both cut short by Ben Saddik testing positive for banned substances and receiving suspensions, with the fights reversed to a 'no contest'.

Personal life

Ben Saddik was born and raised in Antwerp. His parents emigrated to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from the village of Ait Hadifa in northern

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. He was taken to a kickboxing gym at the age of 9 by his father, who feared life in the streets would have a negative impact on his son. As a teen, Jamal was shot and grazed with a bullet after a street fight. In 2012, he was diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

, which would emerge again around a year later. Ben Saddik has since been cancer-free. He was a student of

Cor Hemmers Cornelius "Cor" Hemmers (born August 24, 1956 in Breda) is a Dutch kickboxing trainer associated with the Golden Glory gym in Breda, Netherlands. Biography Hemmers began his Martial Arts training in Judo at the age of 6, which he studied ...

until 2021.

Career

Early years

He made his debut in the It's Showtime promotion on March 6, 2011, at '' Fightingstars presents: It's Showtime Sporthallen Zuid'' and beat

Rico Verhoeven Ricardo Verhoeven (born 10 April 1989) is a Dutch professional kickboxer who currently competes in the heavyweight division of GLORY, where he is the reigning Glory Heavyweight Champion. A professional since 2004, he also competed in the K-1, ...

. He was then scheduled to fight

at '' Fightclub presents: It's Showtime 2011'' on May 21, 2011, but the bout was scrapped when Silva was instead moved to the '' It's Showtime 2011 Lyon'' card to fight

Daniel Ghiță Daniel Florin Ghiță (, born 22 April 1981) is a Romanian politician and former kickboxer, who serves as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania since December 2020. Ghiță is the former It's Showtime heavyweight champion. He formerly ...

. He TKO'd Vitaly Oparin in round one at '' United Glory 15'' on March 23, 2012, and followed this up with a fourth-round KO of Nikolaj Falin on June 2, 2012.

Glory

Ben Saddik lost a decision to

Jahfarr Wilnis Jahfarr Wilnis (born February 26, 1986) is a Dutch Surinamese kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is the 2015 Kunlun Fight Super Heavyweight Tournament winner and the former Enfusion Heavyweight World Champi ...

at '' Glory 2: Brussels'' on October 6, 2012. But, despite this setback, he was invited to compete at '' Glory 4: Tokyo - 2012 Heavyweight Grand Slam'', the biggest heavyweight tournament in kickboxing history, on December 31, 2012. He upset world #4

Errol Zimmerman Errol Zimmerman (born April 20, 1986) is a Curaçaoan- Dutch kickboxer, representing the Hemmers Gym in Breda, Netherlands. He is K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Amsterdam and SUPERKOMBAT Fight Club tournaments champion. Zimmerman is also former Gl ...

at the opening stage, taking a decision. In the quarter-finals, he beat

Remy Bonjasky Remy Kenneth Bonjasky (born January 10, 1976) is a Surinamese-Dutch former kickboxer. He is a three-time K-1 World Grand Prix heavyweight champion, winning the title in 2003, 2004, and 2008. Bonjasky has been known for his flying kicks, knee att ...

on points, but lost via a quick body kick from

in the semis. Despite coming back from the tournament empty-handed, Ben Saddik's stock rose greatly by beating two much higher-rated fighters. Ben Saddik fought

Peter Aerts Peter Aerts (born 25 October 1970) is a Dutch semi-retired kickboxer. Known for his devastating high kicks, which earned him the nickname "The Dutch Lumberjack", he is widely considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers of all time ...

at '' Glory 8: Tokyo - 2013 65kg Slam'' on May 3, 2013, in Tokyo. He started well and floored Aerts in round one, but the Dutchman rallied back and dropped him three times in the second, forcing a referee stoppage. He was knocked out late in round three by Ben Edwards in a slugfest at '' Glory 12: New York - Lightweight World Championship Tournament'' in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on November 23, 2013. He was expected to fight

at '' Glory 14: Zagreb'' in Zagreb, Croatia on March 8, 2014. However he broke his hand while training so he was replaced with Dmytro Bezus. He knocked out

Nicolas Wamba Nicolas Wamba-Barzic (born 12 February 1988), is a French heavyweight boxer and former kickboxer, former WKN World Super Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, managed by ''WKN Top Team''. As of 2017, he was ranked the #17 heavyweight in the world by ...

in round two at '' Glory 16: Denver'' in Broomfield, Colorado, US on May 3, 2014. He lost via disqualification when he attacked a downed

Hesdy Gerges Hesdy Gerges (born February 20, 1984) is a Dutch kickboxer and mixed martial artist, fighting out of the Vos Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He held the It's Showtime World Heavyweight title between 2010 and 2012. Gerges has competed in the K-1 ...

just seconds into their bout at ''Qabala Fight Series #1'' in

Qabala Qabala ( az, Qəbələ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Qabala District of Azerbaijan. The municipality consists of the city of Gabala and the village of Küsnat. Before the city was known as Kutkashen, but after the Republic of ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

on June 29, 2014. Following this incident, Glory suspended him for six months. Ben Saddik would later issue a public apology to both Gerges and fans of the sport.

First suspension and return

Ben Saddik rebounded from his DQ loss to Gerges with a first-round knockout win over Mamoudou Keta, during Glory 22. Ben Saddik won his next outing with Glory as well, defeating

by a third-round TKO. On August 7, 2015, it was announced that Ben Saddik failed a drug test prior to Glory 23: Las Vegas. He was suspended and fined $6,650 by

Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers ...

until 8 August 2016. Ben Saddik must also submit clean drugs tests for steroids and diuretics at 30, 10 and 3 days before next fight in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. As a result, his TKO win against

was changed to a no contest. His next two fights were outside of Glory in the regional circuits. He was first scheduled to fight

Brian Douwes Brian "Bad Ass" Douwes (born 21 November 1987 in Beverwijk) is a Dutch kickboxer fighting out of Team Spirit, formerly known as Top Team Beverwijk in Beverwijk. He competed in K-1, Enfusion Live, Superkombat and Glory. As of 1 May 2017, he i ...

during A1 WCC 20. Douwes won the fight by decision. His next fight was against Andre Schmeling during A1 WCC 21. He also had one with ACB Kickboxing, against Gordon Haupt. Ben Saddik won by a first-round KO. Returning to Glory, Ben Saddik won decision against

Ismael Londt Ismael Londt (born 12 July 1985) is a Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer signed to the ONE Championship. He is the former SUPERKOMBAT Heavyweight Champion, and two time SUPERKOMBAT Grand Prix Heavyweight tournament winner. He was ranked as a top ten h ...

and Guto Inocente. He was given a chance to fight

for the Glory Heavyweight title. Jamal lost to Rico Verhoeven by TKO for the Glory World Championship 49 after his won fight in 2011. He was seen spitting in the face of Rico Verhoeven in a prefight press conference for which he was fined after the incident. On December 8, 2018, he won the Glory 62 Heavyweight Contender tournament by knocking out

in the first round of the final, after winning his fights against Junior Tafa and Guto Inocente in the quarter and semi-final respectively. He signed a new, long term, contract with Glory in January 2020. In October 2020, Glory announced Ben Saddik would fight a rubber match with

for the Glory Heavyweight title, although they didn't announce a date for the fight. The fight was later scheduled for Glory 77. He withdrew from the bout, 11 days before the event, due to a back injury. Ben Saddik was scheduled to face

at Glory: Collision 3 on October 23, 2021. The two of the previously fought at Glory 62: Rotterdam, in the finals of the 2018 Glory Heavyweight Contender tournament, with Ben Saddik winning by a first-round knockout. Ben Saddik was later rescheduled to face

at the same event, as a late replacement for

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of Glory. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Cha ...

, who was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Ben Saddik lost by fourth-round TKO. Ben Saddik was booked to face the former Enfusion Heavyweight Champion and 2020 Glory 76 Heavyweight Tournament winner

Levi Rigters Levi Rigters (born July 12, 1995) is a Dutch kickboxer currently signed with Glory, where he competes in the heavyweight division. He is a former Enfusion Heavyweight Champion and 2020 Glory 76 Heavyweight Tournament winner. He is ranked as t ...

at Glory 80 on March 19, 2022. The bout was cancelled minutes before starting, due to riots breaking out in the crowd.

Second suspension

Ben Saddik faced

, in an eliminator for the interim Glory heavyweight championship, at Glory 81: Ben Saddik vs. Adegbuyi 2 on August 20, 2022. He made quick work of his opponent, as he won the fight by a first-round knockout. Ben Saddik knocked Adegubuyi down once prior to the stoppage. In January 2023, Glory announced Ben Saddik is suspended since his fight with

at Glory 81 on 20 August 2022, due to an investigation into a rule violation. It was revealed on February 8, 2023, that he had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. As a result, his victory over Adegbuyi at Glory 81 was overturned to a no contest. He was also suspended for 15 months, beginning with August 20.

Legal troubles

On March 10, 2021, he was arrested in Antwerp, Belgium in a major operation targeting organised crime in Belgium and the Netherlands. Ben S. was referred to as the seller ('reseller') of the secured crypto devices. His lawyer emphasized though that the arrest of Jamal Ben Saddik has nothing to do with the trade in or possession of prohibited substances such as cocaine (Operation Sky). On March 12, 2021, the Mechelen Council Chamber ordered Ben Saddik to be jailed for 30 days. His attorney immediately filed an appeal. The appeal will be decided in 14 days by the Antwerp Court of Appeal.

Championships and accomplishments

*Glory **2018 Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix (+95 kg/209.4 lb) Winner *CombatPress.com **2015 "Comeback of the Year" **2018 "Comeback Fighter of the Year"

Kickboxing record

, - , - style="background:#c5d2ea;" , 2022-08-20 , , NC , , align=left,

, , Glory 81: Ben Saddik vs. Adegbuyi 2 , , Düsseldorf, Germany , , NC (Overturned) , , 1 , , 2:34 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2021-10-23 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Glory Collision 3 , , Arnhem, Netherlands , , TKO (Punches) , , 4 , , 0:56 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2018-12-08 , , Win, , align=left nowrap,

, , Glory 62: Rotterdam Final , ,

Rotterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, , KO (Left hook), , 1 , , 1:52 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2018-12-08 , , Win, , align=left, Guto Inocente , , Glory 62: Rotterdam Semi Final, ,

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2018-12-08 , , Win, , align=left, Junior Tafa , , Glory 62: Rotterdam Quarter Final, ,

, , TKO (2 Knockdowns Rule) , , 1 , , 2:55 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2018-09-29 , , Win, , align=left,

D'Angelo Marshall D'Angelo Marshall (born 20 September 1990) is a Curaçaoan-Dutch kickboxer, currently signed with Glory. He won 2013 SUPERKOMBAT World Grand Prix III, 2015 SUPERKOMBAT Special Edition and 2017 Glory Heavyweight Contender Tournament tournaments ...

, , Glory 59: Amsterdam , ,

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

, , TKO (3 Knockdowns Rule) , , 1 , , 0:57 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2018-05-12 , , Loss, , align=left,

, , Glory 53: Lille , ,

Lille, France Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2017-12-10 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Glory 49: Rotterdam , ,

, , TKO (Head kick and Punches) , , 5 , , 1:10 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2017-03-25 , , Win , , align=left, Guto Inocente , , Glory 39: Brussels , , Brussels, Belgium , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2016-12-10 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Glory: Collision , , Oberhausen, Germany , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2016-10-16 , , Win , , align=left, Gordon Haupt , , , ACB KB 8: Only The Braves , ,

Hoofddorp Hoofddorp (; ) is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained. His ...

, Netherlands , , KO (Right hook) , , 1 , , 1:24 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2016-05-28 , , Win , , align=left, Andre Schmeling , , A1 World Combat Cup 21 , , Eindhoven, Netherlands , , KO (Right uppercut) , , 1 , , , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2015-11-28 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , A1 World Combat Cup 20 , ,

Eindhoven, Netherlands Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 an ...

, , Glory 23: Las Vegas , ,

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...

, , NC (Overturned) , , 3 , , 2:55 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2015-06-05 , , Win , , align=left, Mamoudou Keta , , Glory 22: Lille , ,

, , , KO (Punches) , , 1 , , 1:59 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2014-06-29 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Qabala Fight Series #1 , , Qabala, Azerbaijan , , DQ (Attack on a downed opponent) , , 1 , , 0:20 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2014-05-03 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Glory 16: Denver , , Broomfield, Colorado, USA , , TKO (Left Hook) , , 2 , , 1:24 , - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2013-11-23 , , Loss , , align=left, Ben Edwards , , Glory 12: New York , ,

, New York, USA , , KO (Right Hook) , , 3 , , 2:52 , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2013-05-03 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Glory 8: Tokyo , ,

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, , TKO (Referee Stoppage) , , 2 , , , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-12-31 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Glory 4: Tokyo - Heavyweight Grand Slam, Semi Finals , ,

Saitama, Japan is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying ...

, , KO (Liver kick) , , 1 , , 0:35 , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-12-31 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Glory 4: Tokyo - Heavyweight Grand Slam, Quarter Finals , ,

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 2 , , 2:00 , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-12-31 , , Win , , align=left,

, , Glory 4: Tokyo - Heavyweight Grand Slam, First 16 , ,

, , Decision (Unanimous) , , 2 , , 2:00 , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-10-06 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Glory 2: Brussels , , Brussels, Belgium , , Decision (Unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-06-02 , , Win , , align=left, Nikolaj Falin , , , , The Netherlands , , KO (Punches) , , 2 , , , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2012-03-23 , , Win , , align=left, Vitaliy Oparin , , United Glory 15 , ,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, , TKO , , 1 , , , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-03-06 , , Win , , align=left,

, , It's Showtime Sporthallen Zuid , ,

, , TKO (Corner Stoppage) , , 2 , , 1:00 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

Profile
at GLORY {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Saddik, Jamal 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Antwerp Moroccan male kickboxers Belgian male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Glory kickboxers Doping cases in kickboxing Moroccan sportspeople in doping cases Belgian sportspeople in doping cases Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands