Badr Hari announces withdrawal from Glory 88 main event in wake of devastating Morocco earthquake

Badr Hari was in no condition to fight in the main event of Glory 88.

The kickboxing star was scheduled to face James McSweeney in the headlining bout of Saturday’s event in Paris, but he instead entered the ring and announced to the crowd to that he would not be competing due to the tragic events in Morocco, where he has extensive family roots.

On Friday evening, an earthquake struck the High Atlas range near Marrakech, leading to mass devastation. The current death toll has surpassed 1,300 people with another 1,800 reportedly injured.

See Hari’s emotional speech, delivered in Arabic, below.

MMA Fighting reached out to Glory officials, who confirmed the reasons for Hari’s withdrawal and that the main event has been cancelled.

Read the promotion’s statement here:

Badr Hari has withdrawn from GLORY 88 due to compassionate grounds surrounding the Moroccan earthquake disaster.

GLORY respects his decision and will donate all profits from the event to a charity in Morocco to help with all those affected.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.