Marshall Zelaznik resigns as CEO of Glory Kickboxing, will stay on in advising role

Glory Kickboxing announced today in a press release that now-former Chief Executive Officer Marshall Zelaznik has resigned from his role with the promotion.

The release states that the promotion “accepted the resignation of Marshall Zelaznik from the role of Chief Executive Officer,” but that Zelaznik would “stay on with GLORY in an advisory role.”

Zelaznik, a longtime combat sports industry executive, had served as the CEO of Glory for two years. He joined the kickboxing promotion in January of 2018, two years after his departure from the UFC brought about by Endeavor’s acquisition of the company.

At the time of his signing, Zelaznik said, “GLORY has done everything right to get to this point and I will ensure that my effort is singularly focused on continuing to develop GLORY as a place where fighters remain proud to compete,” according to Sports Pro Media.

Zelaznik played a major role in the UFC’s late 2000s and early 2010s, largely by becoming the chief architects of UFC Fight Pass, the MMA promotion’s self-produced streaming service, fight library, and event hub. Zelaznik formally served as the UFC’s chief content officer, among other roles.

Zelaznik’s tenure as CEO of Glory was, on many counts, a successful one.

He presided over the promotion’s landmark February 2019 exclusive streaming deal with his brainchild, UFC Fight Pass, noting to MMA Junkie that the deal would make it “really easy for our fans in the U.S. to get GLORY content.”

Glory also held its highest view event to date, “the record-setting GLORY: COLLISION 2” featuring the anticipated rematch between heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven and the notorious Badr Hari, under Zelaznik’s leadership.

In their release, Glory wished Zelaznik well and thanked him for his work with the promotion as CEO.

Zelaznik, in turn, stated, “It has been an enormous privilege to have led GLORY during these past years of growth and I am proud to have worked with remarkable colleagues who I know remain committed to keeping GLORY squarely at the top of the combat sports world.”

Glory contended that “[a]n announcement regarding Mr. Zelaznik’s successor will be made shortly.”