Glory 22 went down today in Lille, France with their first international live-on-Spike event.

In the main event of the evening, Rico Verhoeven defends his heavyweight title against Benjamin Adegbuyi to improve his Glory record to 8-1. The co-main event featured knockout puncher Zack Mwekassa vs. Carlos Brooks.  Mwekassa absorbed brief efforts by Brooks before landing an extremely heavy left-hook that would turn the lights on the evening for Carlos Brooks.

In the night’s 4-man lightweight contender tournament Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong and Josh Jauncey punched their way to the finals after each won their opening round bouts by KO/TKO. In the finals Sittichai, a Muay Thai standout, put the kickboxing world on notice by winning the Glory Lightweight Contender Tournament defeating Josh Jauncey by decision. With the win, Sitthichai positions himself to challenge for the Glory Lightweight Title.

Results:

Main and Co-Main Event:

Rico Verhoeven def. Benjamin Adegbuyi

Zack Mwekassa def. Carlos Brooks via KO in Round 1

Lightweight Tournament:

Sittichai Sitsongpeenong def. Davit Kiria via KO in Round 2

Josh Jauncey def. Djime Coulibaly via TKO in Round 3

Lightweight Tournament Final:

Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong def. Josh Jauncey via Decision 

Superfights:

Jamal Ben Saddik def. Mamoudou Keta via TKO in Round 1

Mourad Bouzidi def. Filip Verlinden via Decision

Yoann Kongolo def. Cedric Doumbe via Decision

Serhiy Adamchuk def. Marat Grigorian via Decision

Shane Oblonsky def. Thomas Adamandopolous via Decision

Glory 22 is set to go down in less than 2 weeks time in Lille, France. The main event will feature Glory Heavyweight Champion Rico Verhoeven defending his title against the formidable Benjamin Adegbuyi. Also featured in the night’s event is the Glory Lightweight Contender Tournament, which includes Davit Kiria, Sittichai Sitsongpeenong, Josh Jauncey, and Niclas Larsen. The winner of the tournament will face Glory Lightweight Champion Robin Van Roosmalen. 

The Glory Superfight Series, a staple of every Glory event, will include the likes of Morad Bouzidi, Filip Verlinden, and North America’s own Shane Oblonsky.

Glory 22 also marks the first international event to to air live on SpikeTV at 4pm ET. Previously, events overseas were shown in the US after a lengthy delay.

Fight Card:

Main & Co-Main Event:

Rico Verhoeven vs Benjamin Adegbuyi

ZackMwekassa vs TBA

Glory Lightweight Contender Tournament:

Davit Kiria vs Sittichai Sitsongpeenong

Josh Jauncey vs Niclas Larsen

Superfight Series:

Freddy Kemayo vs Jamal Ben Saddik

Morad Bouzidi vs Filip Verlinden

Karim Ghajji vs Yoann Kongolo

Marat Grigorian vs Djime Coulibaly

Thomas Adamandopoulos vs Shane Oblonsky

This Action Pro Gear KO of the Week features the powerful striking of Gokhan Saki.
Known for his powerful punches and fearless style, Saki brings the heat to his bout with Anderson Braddock Silva.

The pair fought at Glory 4 and it only took one round for Saki to put the larger heavyweight Silva away.

Make sure to visit ActionProGear.com for all the best prices on training and fight gear.

With the recent announcement that Glory is coming to the United States in 2013 with their “Road to Glory USA” series, they have now launched an online application at GloryWorldSeries.com for fighters looking to apply for the six tournaments.

Although Glory has made no official announcments of signing American talent, Eddie Walker (@EddieShowtime), Joe Schilling, and Justin Greskiewicz (@MuayThaiStayFly) have already been signed according to various sources. You can read the full press release from Glory regarding the “Road to Glory USA” series below.

‘ROAD TO GLORY USA’

FIGHTER APPLICATION NOW AVAILABLE ON GLORYWORLDSERIES.COM

THE SEARCH FOR AMERICA’S NEXT

MARTIAL ARTS STAND UP FIGHTING SUPERSTARS IS ON

U.S. TOURNAMENTS TO IDENTIFY NEW TALENT FOR

WORLD’S PREMIER STAND UP FIGHTING LEAGUE

NEW YORK, NY (Dec. 13, 2012) – GLORY, the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league, today launched an official online application form (http://www.gloryworldseries.com/en/apply) for fighters aspiring to compete in the upcoming ROAD TO GLORY USA live event series that will seek out America’s next great martial arts fighting superstars.

ROAD TO GLORY USA will kick off with six events in the U.S. over the first five months of 2013. Each ROAD TO GLORY USA event will be comprised of a one-night, single-elimination, eight-man tournament in one of GLORY’s six different weight divisions, with fighters who hail from The U.S., and possibly Mexico, Canada and Brazil. The total prize money awarded at each ROAD TO GLORY USA tournament will be U.S. $ 34,000, with the winner taking home U.S. $20,000.

The winner of each tournament will also be awarded a one-year GLORY contract that will place him on the world’s biggest martial arts stand up fighting stage, in prestigious one-night tournaments with prize money of up to U.S. $600,000.

GLORY Ambassador Cor Hemmers and members of GLORY’s management team will evaluate each fighter application submitted online and select those fighters whom they feel are most qualified to compete in the ROAD TO GLORY USA fight series.

“Every fighter dreams of being a champion and ROAD TO GLORY is the first step on that path,” said Hemmers, a renowned trainer of numerous world champions, including the legendary Ramon Dekkers and Alistair Overeem.

“GLORY fighters are, without a doubt, the best stand-up fighters in the world, with striking abilities that are unrivalled in any other combative sport. But, ROAD TO GLORY is not open only to athletes from kickboxing or Muay Thai backgrounds. Competitors from boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Karate, Taekwondo, Capoeira, and Kung-Fu backgrounds are also encouraged to participate. This series is open to any athlete who believes in himself and is confident he has what it takes to succeed in GLORY,” Hemmers said.

GLORY’s six weight classes are as follows: flyweight (143 pounds), lightweight (154 pounds), welterweight (170 pounds), middleweight (187 pounds), light heavyweight (209 pounds), heavyweight (above 209 pounds).

GLORY is home to many of the best martial arts fighters on the planet, including world No. 1 ranked heavyweight Semmy Schilt and world No. 1 ranked lightweight Giorgio Petrosyan, who recently captured a Grand Prize of $300,000 after winning the GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ tournament championship in Rome, Italy on Nov. 3. Other GLORY superstars include Tyrone Spong, Daniel Ghita, Gokhan Saki, Robin van Roosmalen, Albert Kraus and all-time greats Remy Bonjasky and Peter Aerts.

Visit www.gloryworldseries.com for more information.

About GLORY:

The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to the winners of 16-man ‘Grand Prix’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.

With television deals spanning every continent, plus a groundbreaking online video streaming system and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organizations.

Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in Holland, the UK, Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel includes a diverse mix of award-winning hedge-fund and private equity investors; principals from pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia; and senior level executives from several leading sports franchises, including WWE, FIFA, Golden Glory, Champions League and It’s Showtime.

The draws for the GLORY Final 8 (@GLORY_WS) took place today and it
American Ky Hollenbeck will undoubtedly have the biggest task of his fighting
career as he will face Giorgio Petrosyan in the first fight of the night. All of the
action will take at GLORY 3 in Rome on November 3^rd. The three other
opening round match-ups of the Final 8 will feature Shemsi Beqiri vs. Davit
Kiria (@DavitKiria), Robin van Roosmalen (@RobinvRoosmalen) vs. Tim Thomas and Albert Kraus vs. Sanny Dahlbeck (@SannyDahlbeck).

Hollenbeck has made his name taking on all challengers
regardless of experience or name. He established himself in 2011 as a top
fighter not only in the America, but the world with wins over the likes of
Vuyisile Colossa, Jordan Watson and Gregory Choplin. A win over Giorgio
Petrosyan would be huge for the San Francisco based fighter.

Final 8 Match-ups:

Ky Hollenbeck vs. Giorgio Petrosyan

Shemsi Beqiri vs. Davit Kiria

Robin van Roosmalen vs. Tim Thomas

Albert Kraus vs. Sanny Dahlbeck

Heavyweight Powerhouse Tyrone Spong has picked his side. The Dutch striker has signed with GLORY. With the re-emergence of K-1 and GLORY making power moves all over the board there was much debate where some of the worlds best strikers would end up.

Fighting for It’s Showtime in early 2012 it seemed that when K-1 and It’s Showtime teamed up he would possibly be heading for K-1, but with the recent purchase of It’s Showtime by GLORY Spong has signed an exclusive agreement with K-1’s rival promotion. He is now slated to be in action at the December GLORY World Series event. 

See full press release below.

Heavyweight Kickboxing Superstar Tyrone Spong Signs Exclusive Agreement with GLORY

KO artist slated for action amongst world’s greatest big men at GLORY World Series event in Tokyo in December

LONDON, UK (Aug. 22, 2012) – Heavyweight kickboxing KO artist and former Ernesto Hoost protégé Tyrone “The King of the Ring” Spong (68-6-1, 42 KO’s) of Amsterdam, Netherlands has signed a multi-fight, two-year exclusive deal with GLORY to compete in the world’s premiere kickboxing league. He is slated to make his GLORY debut at the GLORY World Series mega-event in Tokyo, Japan on a December date to be announced soon.

The 26-year-old, 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in), 103.5 kg (228 pound), former It’s Showtime World Champion, has scored KO’s in over 60 percent of his victories,. including his latest conquest, a third-round stoppage of all-time great Peter Aerts in Brussels, Belgium on June 30, 2012.
Spong made an immediate impact in the kickboxing world in 2003, his first year competing as a professional, reeling off 12 consecutive wins in a span of as many months. He notched his first major victory on Oct. 1, 2006 when he scored a thunderous, first round (1:55) KO on world champion Kaoklai Kaennorsing of Bangkok, Thailand in Almere, Netherlands. A marquee moment in his career was as a 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix finalist from the old K-1 organization.

“I am very happy to join GLORY and take part in their heavyweight division. It was clear to me that GLORY World Series represents the toughest challenge in kickboxing,” said Spong, who recently relocated to South Florida where he trains alongside UFC superstars Alistair Overeem and Rashad Evans. In addition to being mentored by kickboxing legend Hoost, Spong has trained under professional boxing guru, Floyd Mayweather, Sr.

“The best stand-up fighters in the world are taking part in this league,” Spong continued, “and I want to prove that I am the best. I will be the king of the Glory ring”

Spong is renowned for his incredible athleticism and technical fluidity, attributes that allow him to move with a level of speed that is comparable to a lightweight.

“We are delighted to welcome Tyrone Spong to the GLORY heavyweight division,” said GLORY Ambassador, Cor Hemmers. “He is a very exciting fighter and has a very impressive highlight reel. Fans can expect some superb performances and lots of knockouts.

“Our roster of heavyweight superstars is beyond anything kickboxing has ever seen and, with the acquisition of Tyrone, it just became that much more outstanding,“ commented Marcus Luer, Managing Director of GLORY Sports International.

Born in Suriname and raised in Amsterdam, Spong started his career as a middleweight where he won two different European championships, and has steadily climbed through the weight categories over the years, winning a cruiserweight title on his way to heavyweight.
Amongst the heavyweight superstars whom Spong will join in Tokyo are Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt and Jerome Le Banner—all GLORY fighters who, together, boast a collection of over 10 heavyweight World Grand Prix titles from the old K-1 organization– and rising stars such as Errol Zimmerman, Gokhan Saki, Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva and Filip Verlinden.

About GLORY:

The GLORY World Series (www.gloryworldseries.com) is the world’s premier stand-up fighting league, staging events across the globe and offering up to $1,000,000 in prize money to successful fighters in 16-man grand prix tournaments which are open to only the very best fighters in each weight class.

With television deals spanning every continent plus a ground-breaking online video streaming system and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely-broadcast sporting organizations already.

Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in Holland, the UK, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Its personnel include prominent hedge-fund investors, the pioneering sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia and several executives from the Golden Glory and It’s Showtime team.

The event is a one night single elimination tournament; the remaining three spots should be announced soon. At least one Japanese representative is expected to take up one of the three remaining spots.

The tournament will feature four stages with three of those stages featuring shorter rounds (two minutes instead of three). A new “sudden death” rule will also be in effect, essentially making the fights best out of three. If a fighter has won the first two rounds of the fight on the judges score cards then there will be no need to continue to the third round.

The ‘GLORY – Grand Slam Heavyweight’ event is being produced by GLORY and Japan-based partner G-Entertainment.

Current Glory Grand Slam Line Up:
Semmy Schilt (Netherlands)
Remy Bonjasky (Suriname)
Peter Aerts (Netherlands)
Jerome Le Banner (France)
Errol Zimmerman (Curacao)
Gokhan Saki (Turkey)
Sergei Kharitonov (Russia)
Filip Verlinden (Belgium)
Ismael Londt (Netherlands)
Anderson Silva (Brazil)
Brice Guidon (France)
Jamal Ben Saddik (Morocco)
Igor Jurkovic (Croatia)

Glory officially announced the “Final 8” of the Glory World Series today. The event will take place November 3rd in Rome, Italy. Competing in the “Final 8” one night tournament will be Giorgio Petrosyan, Albert Kraus, Robin van Roosmalen, Shemsi
Beqiri, Ky Hollenbeck, Tim Thomas, Davit Kiria and Sanny Dahlbeck.

American Ky Hollenbeck will be looking to prove that America belongs on the world stage. Hollenbeck has made his name by besting some high level international talent such as Gregory Choplin, Jordan Watson and Vuyisile Colossa. If Hollenbeck wins the Glory World Series or let alone makes it to the finals against this stacked field of fighters, it would be safe to say that he would hands down be the best American fighter. 

Hollenbeck will have his hands full as Petrosyan is widely considered to be the best Kickboxer in the world, while fighters like van Roosmalen and Kraus are also at the top of the international talent pool. It should prove to be an exciting tournament.

Official press release below:

GLORY World Series Hits Rome, Italy with
‘Final 8’ Championship Kickboxing Tournament on Nov. 3, 2012

Superstars Giorgio Petrosyan, Albert Kraus, Robin van Roosmalen, Shemsi
Beqiri, Ky Hollenbeck, Tim Thomas, Davit Kiria and Sanny Dahlbeck Go To
War In One-Night, Single-Elimination mega-event

$300,000 Grand Prize At Stake

ROME, Italy (July 13, 2012) – The eight remaining contenders in the
GLORY World Series single-elimination tournament will travel from the
four corners of the earth to battle it out on NOV 3 2012 at the
historical PalaLottomatica venue, where Muhammad Ali won his Olympic
gold medal.

The greatest prize in the sport of kickboxing will be on the line.

The overall winner of the GLORY World Series Final 8 will have fought
three times that night and earned a grand prize of $300,000 before a
capacity crowd. It will test his skill, strength and fitness. It will
require him to dig into the deepest parts of his spirit to endure pain,
fear and exhaustion.

“GLORY kickboxing is a combination of both Art and War, the pinnacle of
stand-up fighting, and Rome with its history and legendary martial
tradition is the perfect fit for our Final 8 tournament,” said Marcus
Luer, Managing Director of GLORY Sports International.

“Rome provides a beautiful and appropriate backdrop. The battles that
took place in the Coliseum have been immortalized in countless movies
but I can assure you the bouts that will take place on November 3 will
rival anything you have seen on film or in the ring. We are expecting an
Epic.”

Italy is represented in the Final 8 by the inimitable Giorgio Petrosyan,
nicknamed ‘The Doctor’ for his absolutely surgical precision in the
ring. Albert Kraus and Robin van Roosmalen represent the kickboxing
powerhouses of the Netherlands, while Shemsi Beqiri travels down from
the mountains of Switzerland to stake his claim.

From America comes the hard-hitting Ky Hollenbeck, on a mission to
prove that the USA can produce world-class kickboxers, and from England
comes the tricky Tim Thomas. From the steppes of Asia, Davit Kiria and
across the cold northern seas from Sweden, the young prospect Sanny
Dahlbeck.

Further information on how to purchase tickets will be released soon. Stay tuned to www.gloryworldseries.com

About GLORY:

GLORY World Series events were first organized nearly a decade ago but
the company’s heritage stretches back to 1999 with the creation of
Golden Glory, one of the most successful martial arts teams in history.
In 2011 the people who drove that success partnered with some of the
world’s top financial investors and sports marketers to create GLORY
Kickboxing, the ultimate in Stand-Up fighting.

In July 2012, GLORY acquired the iconic European organisation ‘It’s
Showtime’ and absorbed its roster of fighters. The deal brought all the
world’s top-ranked kickboxers under one roof, making possible the kind
of matches which fans could previously only dream of and ushering in a
new golden age for the sport.

GLORY events are staged around the globe and, with over 30 nationalities
represented on the roster, its events are truly the World Cup of
Kickboxing. Its prestigious 16-man tournaments offer rewards unmatched
by any other organisation in the field, with winners taking away a total
of $1,000,000 in prize money.

With television deals in place in all the world’s major regions – plus internet video streaming on www.gloryworldseries.com
powered by Invideous, a cutting-edge online pay-per-view system – GLORY
has a worldwide reach and can deliver thrilling action to fight fans
anywhere on the planet.

Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organisation
has offices in the UK, Holland, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Its
personnel include award-winning hedge-fund investors, the pioneering
sports marketing agency Total Sport Asia and several executives from the
Golden Glory and It’s Showtime team.

For more info log on to www.gloryworldseries.co