Serbian fighter Rade Opačić has joined the roster at GLORY Kickboxing after complaining about long periods of inactivity while competing under the ONE Championship banner.
The 27-year-old kickboxer amassed an impressive 7-1 record in ONE with his only loss coming to Guto Inocente in 2022. He avenged that setback with a victory over the Brazilian just over a year later. He joins the heavyweight roster at GLORY where reigning champion Rico Verhoeven remains cemented as champion with one of the longest undefeated streaks in kickboxing history.
Opačić revealed his inability to get fights on a regular basis while competing for ONE ultimately led to his decision to leave the organization and sign with GLORY.
“When I first joined ONE, everything was great,” Opačić told MMA Fighting. “I was kept active and treated very well. I had zero complaints. However, as soon as 2023 came around, things changed and I’ve had just two fights in the past two years. As a result, I had to request single fights releases to fight outside of ONE just to keep active.
“I’m 27, I feel like I am entering the absolute peek of my career. I look forward to showcasing myself among the best heavyweights in the world in GLORY. My goal is to become champion and I will go through as many fighters as possible to get there.”
After first joining ONE in 2020, Opačić stayed busy with six fights in his first two years with the promotion, but his schedule has slowed dramatically since 2023. He’s only fought once in each of the past two years and eventually ended up fighting in the Senshi promotion in Bulgaria just to stay busy in 2024.
Now he hopes those long stretches of inactivity comes to an end after signing with GLORY.
“I am really excited to finally join GLORY,” Opačić said. “As a heavyweight in kickboxing, everyone knows that GLORY has the most stacked heavyweight division. My goal is to debut as soon a possible and start 2025 with a bang against whoever is put in front of me.”
Opačić is the latest fighter to complain about long periods of inactivity with ONE Championship in recent years.
Former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder sent a scathing message to his former employers after leaving ONE to sign with the UFC.
“This is something I feel I have to do for other fighters — if you’re thinking of signing with ONE Championship, don’t,” de Ridder said in November. “It’s that simple. You should not. There’s nothing there. There’s no fights. You’re just wrong if you do this, if you sign there, this is a bad mistake.”
Grappling superstar turned MMA prospect Marcus Buchecha vented about his lack of activity before finally being booked in what served as the final fight on his ONE Championship contract.
“A lot of people are asking me lately if I retired,” Buchecha wrote on social media in September. “The answer is of course not, the reason I’m not fighting it’s not my choice, I’ve been out waiting for a fight for almost one year but I don’t have luck getting a fight, that’s the reason I’m away from cage or the mats.
“The right question you should ask me is when I’m fighting again? But right now I’m asking to some people the same thing, to be more precise 13 months. It’s been 13 months of waiting, to be in a situation like that it’s sucks, I don’t wish this to anybody! So if you want this answer, you know who to ask and tag ONE Championship.”
As for Opačić , with a new contract in hand he anticipates a much busier schedule in 2025 now that he’s signed with GLORY.
