Bahram Rajabzadeh should enter as the clear pick against Sina Karimian when they meet in a heavyweight bout at GLORY Collision 10 on December 12 at GelreDome in Arnhem, Netherlands. The card is led by Mory Kromah defending the GLORY heavyweight title against Antonio Plazibat, while Mohamed Touchassie meets Tarik Khbabez for the light heavyweight belt.

Rajabzadeh has the speed, knockout volume and recent GLORY form to justify favorite status. Iran’s Karimian, سایت شرط بندی, carries a major size edge and has championship experience, though his route to an upset is likely a disciplined, extended fight rather than a trading contest.

Sina Karimian vs. Bahram Rajabzadeh

Rajabzadeh, 34, is listed at 1.87m and 99.3kg by GLORY, competing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. The Azerbaijani representative owns a 73-7 record with 65 knockouts, including a first-round stoppage of Cristian Ristea in February.

Karimian, 38, is a 2m Iranian heavyweight with a listed career kickboxing record of 16-5 with eight knockouts and two no contests. He won the inaugural K-1 cruiserweight title in 2018, defended it twice, then regained the belt in 2021 by stopping K-Jee with a spinning backfist after surviving two first-round knockdowns. He has also beaten Kyotaro by extra-round split decision and stopped Kosuke Jitsukata in the opening round.

The physical difference is real as Karimian is roughly 13cm taller and has used that frame well when he can establish long punches, front kicks and a patient tempo. Rajabzadeh is the more compact fighter, but he regularly gives away height at heavyweight and has built his reputation on finding his way inside.

Karimian’s only GLORY appearance ended in a unanimous-decision loss to Tomáš Možný at GLORY 99 in April 2025. The scorecards ranged from 29-27 to 30-26, pointing to a clear defeat rather than a tight one. Before that, he lost his K-1 cruiserweight belt to Liu Ce by third-round right-hook knockout and dropped a decision to Claudio Istrate.

Rajabzadeh has faced a much deeper recent run of elite GLORY opposition. He stopped Luis Tavares with a first-round head kick, knocked out Ibrahim El Bouni with a flying knee, beat Tariq Osaro and Uku Jürjendal on decisions, and earned a win over Sergej Maslobojev when Maslobojev retired in their 2024 Grand Prix semifinal. He lost close title fights and tournaments too, including a majority decision against Khbabez and a June decision to Touchassie, so this is an opportunity to return to the win column in a heavyweight showcase.

The best straight pick is Rajabzadeh to win, with a lean toward a stoppage. His 65 career knockouts tell the story, but the matchup detail is more important: Karimian has been vulnerable when opponents pressure him with punches. K-Jee stopped him in round one in 2020, Liu Ce knocked him out with a right hook in 2024, and Možný outworked him over three rounds in his GLORY debut.

Rajabzadeh’s best weapons are likely to be the right hand over Karimian’s lead side, left hook after he closes range, and knees or kicks when Karimian resets upright. He has finished opponents with each type of attack: head kicks, flying knees, hooks and accumulated knockdowns. That creates a logical case for Rajabzadeh by KO/TKO, especially in rounds one or two.