A day after headlining the biggest Muay Thai and kickboxing show ever staged in Israel, Kibedy Gordon sat down with ONE's Shichat HaYom programme and admitted the night brought him more nerves than any fight of his own career.
"We want [more events], but it's stressful," Gordon said, reflecting on GFN 1: Israel vs. The World, the promotion he and his two brothers built and headlined on Monday night at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv.
The show was fronted by a triple main event featuring all three Gordon brothers on the same card for the first time. Ahavat Gordon beat former UFC bantamweight contender John Lineker by unanimous decision in the marquee Muay Thai bout, while Ruach Gordon defeated Maximus Bejenuta and Kibedy himself stopped Jose Alberto Quiñonez by knockout in under a minute.
Kibedy told ONE that fighting himself is one kind of pressure, but watching his younger brothers compete is another matter entirely. "When I fight, the pressure is on me. This time the pressure was tripled, because of my brothers," he said, adding that seeing them in the ring was harder to sit through than stepping into it himself.
Despite the toll, he said the family has no intention of stopping at one show. Asked about his own future, Gordon pointed beyond the promotion he co-founded. "I'm aiming for UFC, and as for my brothers — maybe one of them gets an offer from one of the major leagues too," he said.
Ahavat Gordon, fresh off beating Lineker, is due to marry soon, according to the report — a rare piece of good news timed for right after the biggest win of his career.
The Gordon brothers organised GFN in partnership with Yaniv Kaminski, pitching it as an "Israel vs. the World" showcase and drawing international names, including Lineker and Quiñonez, to fight in Tel Aviv. Also on the card was Israeli UFC veteran Natan Levy, who fought American Lando Vannata in a kickboxing bout.
ONE reports the family is already planning to bring the promotion back, with the next major GFN event expected within a few months.
