Donegi Abena
Donegi Abena | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 23, 1998 Paramaribo, Suriname |
| Occupation | Kickboxer |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Known for | Glory Light Heavyweight Champion |
Donegi Abena (born February 23, 1998) is a Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer competing in the Light Heavyweight division of Glory, where he formerly held the Glory Light Heavyweight title.
As of June 1, 2024, Abena holds the #1 global ranking in the light-heavyweight category according to GLORY. He has maintained a position within Combat Press’s top ten rankings since November 2018.
Early career
Abena made his professional debut against Elmir Mehić at WFL: Bosnia on September 25, 2015, securing a victory by split decision.
On December 19, 2015, he faced Jan Soukup at Večer Bojovníků Thajského Boxu VII but was defeated by unanimous decision. His losing streak continued during the 2016 Tatneft Cup quarterfinals when he was edged out by Petr Romankevich after an extra round decision.
He snapped this losing run with a first-round knockout win over Maurice Jackson at FFC 25 on June 10, 2016. Over the following six months, Abena achieved knockout and decision victories against Andrey Ohotnik, Dzhobir Tashmatov, and Andress van Engelen. This sequence of five wins earned him entry into the 2016 WLF Super Heavyweight Tournament held on December 3. There, he defeated Romankevich in the quarterfinals but was stopped by Jairzinho Rozenstruik via knockout in the finals.
Abena then competed against Fabien Fouquet at FFC 29 on April 22, 2017, winning by technical knockout in the first round.
A1 World Combat Cup
On May 13, 2017, Abena took part in the A1 WCC Heavyweight Qualification Tournament, where he claimed victories by decision over Wendell Roche in the semifinals and Brian Douwes in the final.
He fought Clyde Brunswijk at Blood, Sweat and Tears on December 22, 2017, earning a decision win.
Competing in the 2018 A1WCC Champions League Tournament for a €110,000 prize on May 5, 2018, Abena defeated Luis Tavares in the quarterfinals and Adnan Rezovic in the semifinals but was narrowly defeated by Mohamed Abdellah via decision in the championship bout.
On July 13, 2018, Abena faced Andrei Stoica at ACB KB 16, winning by decision.
GLORY
Abena’s Glory debut came against Stephane Susperregui at Glory 60: Lyon on October 20, 2018, where he earned a unanimous decision victory.
He followed this with a split decision win over #4 ranked Michael Duut at Glory 64: Strasbourg on March 9, 2019. These successes established him as the leading contender for the Glory Light Heavyweight belt.
At Glory 66: Paris on June 22, 2019, Abena challenged reigning champion Artem Vakhitov but lost via split decision.
Later that year, on September 28 at Glory 68: Miami, Abena battled interim Glory Light Heavyweight titleholder and current Middleweight champion Alex Pereira, suffering a third-round knockout defeat.
Following a break of fourteen months, Abena returned to face Luis Tavares at Glory 77: Rotterdam on January 30, 2021, losing by unanimous decision. Later that year on October 23 at Glory: Collision 3, he narrowly lost to Sergej Maslobojev via split decision.
On October 8, 2022, Abena secured a unanimous decision victory over #2 contender Felipe Micheletti at Glory: Collision 4.
Glory Light Heavyweight Champion
Abena contested the Glory Light Heavyweight title against Sergej Maslobojev at Glory 83 on February 11, 2023. He secured victory via a technical knockout in the fourth round after the ringside doctor halted the bout due to a shin injury sustained by Maslobojev.
He was slated to defend his belt versus former ONE Kickboxing Light Heavyweight and Glory Light Heavyweight title contender Tarik Khbabez at Glory: Collision 5 on June 17, 2023, but had to pull out three days before the event because of food poisoning. The match was postponed and rescheduled for Glory: Collision 6 on November 4, 2023. On October 31, Khbabez withdrew due to a hand injury and was replaced by Mohamed Touchassie. Abena successfully defended his championship by unanimous decision.
Abena faced Khbabez for his second title defense during the Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix on March 9, 2024, where he lost by split decision.
During the quarterfinals of the Glory Light Heavyweight Grand Prix held on June 8, 2024, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Abena defeated Ștefan Lătescu via third-round technical knockout utilizing low kicks. Continuing his momentum, he eliminated Khbabez in the semifinals with low kicks as well, earning a spot in the final against Bahram Rajabzadeh. Abena claimed the tournament title along with the $100,000 prize by stopping Rajabzadeh in the first round.
Abena vs. Khbabez III
In October 2024, it was announced that Abena would meet Tarik Khbabez for their third and conclusive encounter at Glory: Collision 7 on December 7, contesting for the Glory Light Heavyweight title. Abena was defeated by split decision, with judges scoring 49-47 twice in favor of Khbabez and once for Abena. Following this bout, Abena declared his retirement but later rescinded this decision after consultations with Glory officials.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Abena was booked to make his MMA debut against Paolo Anastasi at Ares FC 7 on June 25, 2022; nevertheless, the fight was cancelled due to undisclosed circumstances.
Professional Boxing Career
On June 14, 2025, Abena inked a long-term contract with Queensberry Promotions.
Titles and Achievements
- GLORY
- 2023 Glory Light Heavyweight Champion – One successful defense
- 2024 Winner of Glory Light Heavyweight Grand Prix
- 2024 Fight of the Year (versus Tarik Khbabez at Glory Collision 7)
Kickboxing Record
| 2025-10-05 | Win | Tarik Cherkaoui | World Fighting League | The Hague, Netherlands | TKO (3 Knockdowns) | 1 | ||
| 2024-12-07 | Loss | Tarik Khbabez | Glory Collision 7 | Arnhem, Netherlands | Decision (Split) | 5 | 3:00 | |
| 2024-06-08 | Win | Bahram Rajabzadeh | Grand Prix Final | Rotterdam, Netherlands | TKO (Referee stoppage/punches) | 1 | 2:43 | |
| 2024-06-08 | Win | Tarik Khbabez | Grand Prix Semifinal | Rotterdam, Netherlands | KO (Low kick) | 2 | 0:30 | |
| 2024-06-08 | Win | Ștefan Lătescu | Quarterfinals of Grand Prix | Rotterdam, Netherlands | TKO (Low kicks) | 3 | 0:59 | |
| 2024-03-09 | Loss | Tarik Khbabez | Heavyweight Grand Prix | Arnhem,Netherlands | Decision (Split) | 5 | 3:00 | |
| 2023-11-04 | Win | Mohamed Touchassie | Glory: Collision 6 | Arnhem,Netherlands | Decision (Unanimous) | 5 | 3:00 | |
| 2023-02-11 | Win | Sergej Maslobojev | Glory 83 | Essen,Germany | TKO (Doctor stoppage) | 4 | 2:15 | |
| 2022-10-08 | Win | Felipe Micheletti | Glory: Collision 4 | Arnhem, Netherlands | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2021-10-23 | Loss | Sergej Maslobojev | Glory: Collision 3 | Arnhem, Netherlands | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2021-01-30 | Loss | Luis Tavares | Glory 77: Rotterdam | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2019-09-28 | Loss | Alex Pereira | Glory 68: Miami | Miami,United States | KO (Left hook) | 3 | 2:08 | |
| 2019-06-22 | Loss | Artem Vakhitov | 2019 in Glory#Glory 66: Paris | Paris, France | Decision (Split) | 5 | 3:00 | |
| 2019-03-09 | Win | Michael Duut | Glory64 Strasbourg | Strasbourg, France | Decision (Split) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-10-20 | Win | Stephane Susperregui | Glory60 Lyon | Lyon, France | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| "2018-07-13" | Win | Andrei Stoica | ACB KB16 | Târgoviște, Romania | Decision(Split) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| "2018-05-05" | Loss | align=left | Mohamed Abdallah | A1WCC Champions League Final | Hasselt, Belgium | Decision | |||
| "2018-05-05" | Win | align=left | Adnan Rezovic | A1WCC Champions League Semi Final | Hasselt, Belgium | Decision | |||
| "2018-05-05" | Win | align=left | Luis Tavares | A1WCC Champions League Quarter Final | Hasselt, Belgium | Ext R. Decision(Unanimous) | |||
| "2017-12-22" | Win | align=left | Clyde Brunswijk | Blood, Sweat and Tears | Paramaribo, Suriname | Decision | |||
| "2017-05-13" | Win | align=left | Brian Douwes | A1 World Combat Cup Final | Eindhoven, Netherlands | Decision | |||
| "2017-05-13" | Win | align=left | Wendell Roche | A1 World Combat Cup Semi Finals | Eindhoven, Netherlands | Decision | |||
| "2017-04-22" | Win | align=left | Fabien Fouquet | FFC29 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | TKO(Liver Shot) | 1 | 2:35 | |
| "2016-12-03" | Loss | align=left | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | Wu Lin Feng WLF x Krush - China vs Japan | Zhengzhou, China | KO | |||
| "2016-12-03" | Win | align=left | Petr Romankevich | Wu Lin Feng WLF x Krush - China vs Japan | Zhengzhou, China | Decision | |||
| "2016-11-05" | Win | align=left | Andress van Engelen | A1 World Combat Cup | Germany | Decision | |||
| "2016-08-23" | Win | align=left | Dzhobir Tashmatov | Akhmat Fight Show | Grozny, Russia | Decision(Unanimous) | |||
| "2016-07-22" | Win | align=left | Andrey Ohotnik | Tatneft Cup -1st selection quarterfinal | Kazan, Russia | KO | |||
| "2016-06-10" | Win | align=left | Maurice Jackson | FFC25 Mitchell vs Lopez | Springfield, Massachusetts, USA | TKO(punches) | 1 | 1:10 | |
| "2016-03-06" | Loss | align=left | Petr Romankevich | Tatneft Cup -2nd selection round of sixteen | Kazan, Russia | Decision | |||
| "2015-12-19" | Loss | align=left | Jan Soukup | Večer Bojovníků Thajského Boxu VII. | Liberec, Czech Republic | Decision(Unanimous) | |||
| "2015-09-25" | Win | align=left | Elmir Mehić | WFL Bosnia | Laktaši, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Decision(Split) | |||
| "2015-02-08" | Win | Mohammed Balli | Muay Thai Centre Clyde van Dams | Netherlands | Decision | 1:30 | ||
| "2014-12-14" | Win | Mohamed Gabri | Maxifit/Mejiro Wormer gala | Netherlands | Decision | 1:30 | ||
| "2014-10-18" | Win | Marwin Gietmann | MTBG Ruble Event15 | Netherlands | Decision | 1:30 | ||
| "2014-10-05" | Win | Fabio Brent | Go Hard Or Go Home7 | Tilburg, Netherlands | Decision | 1:30 |