With Glory 9 set for this Saturday in New York; Chad Sanderson of Fight Sport Asia and Nathan Aripez of Muay Thai Authority have teamed up once again to bring you predictions. The three fights we are giving our predictions on this time around are Daniel Ghita vs. Brice Guidon, Joseph Valtellini vs. Francois Ambang, and the winner of the Light Heavyweight Grand Slam. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our dashing duo.
For the latest on the Asian combat sports scene be sure to visit our friends at FightSportAsia.com, and the latest news on on the North American striking scene stay right here at MuayThaiAuthority.com.
Daniel Ghita vs. Brice Guidon:
Chad’s Pick: Daniel Ghita
In all honesty, this fight is will more than likely be serving as the introduction of Daniel Ghita to the American fanbase. The Savage Samurai is coming off two knockout losses to Semmy Schilt and Gohkan Saki, while Guidon has found himself on the losing end of two bouts with Schilt. While Guidon is a master game-planner and has the potential to out-manuever some of the best fighters in the division, I don’t think it’s a coincidence he’s not ranked inside GLORY’s top 10 heavyweights, and yet finds himself facing the number three HW in the world. I predict that Daniel Ghita doesn’t let this one go the distance.
Nathan’s Pick – Daniel Ghita
Both Ghita and Guidon will be looking to end two fight skids. Ghita lost his last two fights by (T)KO, one to Semmy Schilt and the other to Gokhan Saki. Guidon has lost both of his past two fights to Semmy Schilt, once by decision and once by (T)KO. These are heavyweights here so they both posses fight ending power, but you have to give the edge to Ghita. He has fought better competition through out his career and before his current two fight skid he had won ten consecutive fights with nine of those wins coming by (T)KO and all against solid competition.
Expect this fight to be close early, but midway through the second round Ghita will begin to pull away and should be able to get a stoppage before the final bell.
Joseph Valtellini vs. Francois Ambang
Chad’s Pick: Joe Valtellini
This is sort of a difficult pick to make, considering that Valtellini has proven himself on the GLORY stage and Francois Ambang is relatively untested. While he pulled off some great wins against Marcus Fisher and Brett Hlavaceck at the Road to Glory lightweight tournament, it’s hard to say how good he’ll look in the face of a true kickboxing veteran. While “Bazooka Joe” hasn’t been around very long himself, we at least got to see his handiwork in GLORY when the Canadian dismantled the grizzled Murat Durekci in his kickboxing debut.
Both guys have a ton of power, but I believe that Valtellini is the smarter fighter, while Ambang is the more aggressive one. We saw in Istanbul that Joe not only has the ability to give a beating, but he can take punishment as well. Again, this fight is hard to call, since we’ve never seen Ambang take a solid hit (In kickboxing). While I think Francois is skilled enough to land a knockout shot, I’m going with Joseph Valtellini to win the fight by Knockout in the first round.
Nathan’s Pick – Joseph Valtellini
This fight has knockout written all over it, both Valtellini and Ambang are known for their heavy hands. Valtellini last competed at Glory 6 in Istanbul where he defeated veteran Murat Direkci by (T)KO. Ambang was last in action when he won the Road to Glory USA welterweight tournament, Ambang scored two (T)KO’s on the night.
Valtellini is the more technical fighter of the two, blending crisp punching with leg kicks to create some of the best combinations around. Ambang is a little less polished with his striking and tends to open up a bit when unloading on his opponents. This will give Valtellini an advantage; he is not only an offensive power house but also has a pretty strong defense. Expect to see Ambang unloading early trying to end the fight, but Valtellini’s guard will hold up and he will find his own opening to end Ambang’s night early. Expect a stoppage victory for Valtellini in the second round.
Glory Light Heavyweight 8-Man Grand Slam:
Chad’s Pick: Tyrone Spong
I don’t think there’s anyone in this tournament, or at 95kg in general (With the exception of Nasthan Corbett) that can beat Spong. He’s the most technically sound fighter in the division, one of the biggest, one of the most hard hitting, and one of the fastest. The only question now with Spong is how he’ll deal with fighters that are younger, faster, and stronger than his last couple opponents (Remy Bonjasky and Peter Aerts). Also, how Spong’s mma training has conflicted with his kickboxing regimens will be out for debate.
If anyone has a chance to beat the Dutch fighter in this tournament, I’d put my money on either Danyo Ilunga, who recently won via nasty knee KO against Stephane Susperegui, or Steve McKinnon, who seems re-energized after his debatable loss to Michael Duut. Again, similarly to Daniel Ghita, I think this tournament will serve as Spong’s American introduction to NYC.
Nathan’s Pick: Tyrone Spong
You could have said this tournament was up for grabs, then it was announced that Tyrone Spong would be competing. Spong has to be considered the heavy favorite to win this tournament. He is technical and powerful with his striking and any one that fights him in the tournament is in for some punishment.
This is a tournament and anything can happen, but with his experience and skill set it would be fool hearted to bet against Spong. Although if Spong was not in this tournament I would say Danyo Ilunga would be pulling out the tournament victory.
For the latest on the Asian combat sports scene be sure to visit our friends at FightSportAsia.com, and the latest news on on the North American striking scene stay right here at MuayThaiAuthority.com.
Daniel Ghita vs. Brice Guidon:
Chad’s Pick: Daniel Ghita
In all honesty, this fight is will more than likely be serving as the introduction of Daniel Ghita to the American fanbase. The Savage Samurai is coming off two knockout losses to Semmy Schilt and Gohkan Saki, while Guidon has found himself on the losing end of two bouts with Schilt. While Guidon is a master game-planner and has the potential to out-manuever some of the best fighters in the division, I don’t think it’s a coincidence he’s not ranked inside GLORY’s top 10 heavyweights, and yet finds himself facing the number three HW in the world. I predict that Daniel Ghita doesn’t let this one go the distance.
Nathan’s Pick – Daniel Ghita
Both Ghita and Guidon will be looking to end two fight skids. Ghita lost his last two fights by (T)KO, one to Semmy Schilt and the other to Gokhan Saki. Guidon has lost both of his past two fights to Semmy Schilt, once by decision and once by (T)KO. These are heavyweights here so they both posses fight ending power, but you have to give the edge to Ghita. He has fought better competition through out his career and before his current two fight skid he had won ten consecutive fights with nine of those wins coming by (T)KO and all against solid competition.
Expect this fight to be close early, but midway through the second round Ghita will begin to pull away and should be able to get a stoppage before the final bell.
Joseph Valtellini vs. Francois Ambang
Chad’s Pick: Joe Valtellini
This is sort of a difficult pick to make, considering that Valtellini has proven himself on the GLORY stage and Francois Ambang is relatively untested. While he pulled off some great wins against Marcus Fisher and Brett Hlavaceck at the Road to Glory lightweight tournament, it’s hard to say how good he’ll look in the face of a true kickboxing veteran. While “Bazooka Joe” hasn’t been around very long himself, we at least got to see his handiwork in GLORY when the Canadian dismantled the grizzled Murat Durekci in his kickboxing debut.
Both guys have a ton of power, but I believe that Valtellini is the smarter fighter, while Ambang is the more aggressive one. We saw in Istanbul that Joe not only has the ability to give a beating, but he can take punishment as well. Again, this fight is hard to call, since we’ve never seen Ambang take a solid hit (In kickboxing). While I think Francois is skilled enough to land a knockout shot, I’m going with Joseph Valtellini to win the fight by Knockout in the first round.
Nathan’s Pick – Joseph Valtellini
This fight has knockout written all over it, both Valtellini and Ambang are known for their heavy hands. Valtellini last competed at Glory 6 in Istanbul where he defeated veteran Murat Direkci by (T)KO. Ambang was last in action when he won the Road to Glory USA welterweight tournament, Ambang scored two (T)KO’s on the night.
Valtellini is the more technical fighter of the two, blending crisp punching with leg kicks to create some of the best combinations around. Ambang is a little less polished with his striking and tends to open up a bit when unloading on his opponents. This will give Valtellini an advantage; he is not only an offensive power house but also has a pretty strong defense. Expect to see Ambang unloading early trying to end the fight, but Valtellini’s guard will hold up and he will find his own opening to end Ambang’s night early. Expect a stoppage victory for Valtellini in the second round.
Glory Light Heavyweight 8-Man Grand Slam:
Chad’s Pick: Tyrone Spong
I don’t think there’s anyone in this tournament, or at 95kg in general (With the exception of Nasthan Corbett) that can beat Spong. He’s the most technically sound fighter in the division, one of the biggest, one of the most hard hitting, and one of the fastest. The only question now with Spong is how he’ll deal with fighters that are younger, faster, and stronger than his last couple opponents (Remy Bonjasky and Peter Aerts). Also, how Spong’s mma training has conflicted with his kickboxing regimens will be out for debate.
If anyone has a chance to beat the Dutch fighter in this tournament, I’d put my money on either Danyo Ilunga, who recently won via nasty knee KO against Stephane Susperegui, or Steve McKinnon, who seems re-energized after his debatable loss to Michael Duut. Again, similarly to Daniel Ghita, I think this tournament will serve as Spong’s American introduction to NYC.
Nathan’s Pick: Tyrone Spong
You could have said this tournament was up for grabs, then it was announced that Tyrone Spong would be competing. Spong has to be considered the heavy favorite to win this tournament. He is technical and powerful with his striking and any one that fights him in the tournament is in for some punishment.
This is a tournament and anything can happen, but with his experience and skill set it would be fool hearted to bet against Spong. Although if Spong was not in this tournament I would say Danyo Ilunga would be pulling out the tournament victory.
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