GLORY cuts heavyweight Hedsy Gerges after 54-month sentencing for cocaine conviction

One of GLORY's top heavyweight kickboxers, Hedsy Gerges, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison after a 2011 cocaine conviction for drug trafficking. The No. 6-ranked GLORY heavyweight will also be required to pay a fine of 22,000 Euros. Gerges was arrested back in February of 2011 in relation to a raid by Belgium officials, who caught his half brother Ashraf and a friend with 128 kilos of cocaine.

Gerges, 30, refuted the charges back then, and he told the Amsterdam news outlet AT5 he plans to appeal, saying, "I will fight to the bitter end."

Bloody Elbow reported the news on Saturday (Nov. 22, 2014), and also received a statement from GLORY CEO Jon J. Franklin that the world's leading kickboxing promotion has, in fact, taken swift action and cut ties with the Dutch-Egyptian.

Franklin's statement:

"Hesdy Gerges has been cut from the GLORY roster and removed from its rankings. GLORY does not tolerate any type of illegal activity and will remove athletes that violate our code of conduct in or out of the ring."

Gerges last fight was on the Superfight Series of the GLORY 18 "Return to GLORY" card on Nov. 7, 2014, in Oklahoma, where he lost to Benjamin Adegbuyyi by unanimous decision.

He finished 2-2 in GLORY and 45-14-1 overall.