Glory 13 Results and Recap

The Glory welterweight tournament took place today in Tokyo, Japan at Glory 13 and it did not disappoint. Going in many were expecting to see Nieky Holzken vs. Joseph Valtellini in the tournament final and that is exactly how things played out. Holzken won a unanimous decision over Karapet Karapetyan in the semi-finals, knocking Karapetyan down twice in the fight. Valtellini scored a third round knockout of Raymond Daniels to reserve his spot in the finals. After battering Daniels’s legs with low kicks throughout the fight a stiff leg kick in the third round had Daniels reeling and when Valtellini backed him into the ropes instead of going low he went high and scored the knockout.

In the tournament final it was all fireworks. Neither Holzken nor Valtellini wanted to give up an inch and both continuously delivered power packed punches and kicks all while still keeping great technique intact. Holzken seemed to take the lead in the first round of the fight being a bit more accurate and active but Valtellini came storming back in the second round. It could easily have been one round a piece on the judge’s score cards going into the third and final round. Both fighters came out letting their fist and feet fly in the third round. Holzken connected with a shot to body that had Valtellini hurt but he refused to go down. Valtellini continued to fire back at Holzken despite being in trouble. As the fight entered the final minute you could sense both men knew exactly everything that was on the line as they both continued to sling heavy leather. In a hectic exchange Holzken landed an overhand right that sent Valtellini crashing down to the canvas face first with only five seconds remaining in the fight. Valtellini was able to work his way back up to his feet before the ten count but the referee stopped the fight. It seemed that the referee could have let Valtellini try and make it to a decision, but in the end Holzken walked away the winner by (T)KO and with the $100,000 grand prize.

Peter Aerts and Glory heavyweight tournament winner Rico Verhoeven met in a super fight that would be Aerts last fight in Japan. It was a close fight as both men had their moments; the best way to describe this fight was a slugfest. In the end Verhoeven took home a split decision win over Aerts in a fight that could have gone either way.

In other action Daniel Ghita made quick work of Errol Zimmerman by knocking him out in just 35 seconds with a left hook and Makoko Uehara edged out Dustin Jacoby by split decision.

Results:

Glory Welterweight Tournament Semi-Finals
Nieky Holzken def. Karapet Karapetyan via Unanimous Decision
Joseph Valtellini def. Raymond Daniels via KO (Head Kick) at 1:20 of Rd. 3

Glory Welterweight Tournament Final
Nieky Holzken def. Joseph Valtellini via (T)KO at 2:55 of Rd. 3

Super Fights
Rico Verhoeven def. Peter Aerts via Split Decision
Daniel Ghita def. Errol Zimmerman via KO at 0:35 of Rd. 1
Makoko Uehara def. Dustin Jacoby via Split Decision
Mosab Amrani def. Yuta Kubo via Unanimous Decision
Artur Kyshenko def. Masayuki Kenmun via Unanimous Decision
Aleksandr Stetcurenko def. Karim Ghajji via Unanimous Decision
Anderson Silva def. Remy Bonjasky via Unanimous Decision
Hesdy Gerges def. Ewerton Teixeira via Unanimous Decision
Sergei Kharitonov def. Jerome LeBanner via Unanimous Decision

Glory 8 Results: Yuta Kubo wins featherweight tournament

Glory 8 took place in Tokyo last night and featured Glory’s featherweight 8-man tournament. When the night was over it was Yuta Kubo who was the last man standing. Kubo defeated Masaaki Noiri in the tournament finals by decision to win take home the tournament crown. To make it to the final’s Noiri took out Liam Harrison after defeating him in the quarterfinals via a cut, and then won a decision over Mosab Amrani. Kubo defeated Chin Bin Lim by (T)KO in quarterfinals and Canada’s Gabriel Varga by decision in the semi-finals.

In the night’s super fights two legends of the sport showed they still had the right stuff. Jerome Le Banner def. Koichi Watanabe by decision and Peter Aerts scored a (T)KO over young gun Jamal Ben Saddik in what was an action packed fight. Early on it looked like it was going to be Saddik’s fight as he came out aggressive and knocked Aerts down in the first round. In the second round it was a whole different story, Aerts came out swinging for the fences and knocked down Saddik early in the round and then twice more later in the round to take home the (T)KO victory. In one of the night’s other super fight Andy Risite stopped Albert Kraus in the second round with a knee. It’s an impressive return back to the ring after Ristie’s less than stellar Glory 6 performance in Istanbul.

Full Results:

Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal

Mosab Amrani def. Marcus Vinicius by Decision

Masaaki Noiri def. Liam Harrison via (T)KO (Cut) in Rd. 2

Gabriel Varga def. Abdellah Ezbiri via Decision

Yuta Kubo def. Chi Bin Lim via KO in Rd. 2

Featherweight Tournament Semi-Final

Masaaki Noiri def. Mosab Amrani via Decision

Yuta Kubo def. Gabriel Varga via Decision

Featherweight Tournament Final

Yuta Kubo def. Masaaki Noiri via Decision

Featherweight Tournament Reserve Fights

Andrej Bruhl def. Yukihiro Komiya via Decision

Chonlek Super Pro Samui def. Zen Fujita via Decision

Super Fights

Yoshihiro Sato def. Sung Hyun via Decision

Jerome Le Banner def. Koichi Watanabe via Decision

Andy Ristie def. Albert Kraus via KO (Knee) in Rd. 2

Peter Aerts def. Jamal Ben Saddik via (T)KO (3 Knockdowns) in Rd. 2

Chad and Nathan's Pick 3: Glory 8

With Glory 8 just a few days away, Chad Sanderson of Fight Sport Asia and Nathan Aripez of Muay Thai Authority have teamed up once again to bring you predictions for three fights at this weekend’s Glory 8 event. With Glory 8 featuring the featherweight tournament, Chad and Nathan will give you their picks on two of the night’s fights as well as who they think will be the last man standing in the 8-man 65 kilo tournament. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our dashing hosts.

For the latest news on combat sports in Asia make sure to visit our friends at FightSportAsia.com, for the latest on the North American Striking scene stay locked on here at MuayThaiAuthority.com.

Peter Aerts vs. Jamal Ben Saddik

Chad’s Pick – Jamal Ben Saddick
I’m a little torn on this fight. Jamal Ben Saddick is a big, strong, behemoth of a man. But there’s no doubt in my mind that his recent wins over Errol Zimmerman were due in part to the unusual tournament ruleset. His stamina is an issue, and once he tires out it could be over. That being said, I think Peter Aerts’ time is up. He was showing his age against Tyrone Spong, and has been more susceptible to injuries over years past. While he did beat Semmy Schilt in one of the most intelligent performances of his life back in 2010, I don’t think he has the athleticism to deal with the 23 year old Saddick. I’m picking Jamal by TKO in round 2.

Nathan’s Pick – Jamal Ben Saddik
This is a match up of youth vs. age, and youth is going to win. The 42 year old Aerts is a legend and tough as nails, but the 23 year old Saddik is a heavy hitter. This fight will start evenly in the first round, but in the second Saddik will begin to pull away as he begins to unload on Aerts. 80% of Saddik’s wins have come by stoppage, and he continues his trend of finishing fights in this one. Saddik wins by (T)KO.

Albert Kraus vs. Andy Ristie

Chad’s Pick – Albert Kraus
Albert Kraus is a bad matchup for Andy Ristie. Ristie is a very wide puncher- his strength is overwhelming his opponents with sheer volume and power, but if that doesn’t work the fight usually turns into an ugly mess. Not only that, but Ristie has a tendency to ignore his defense when he begins to turn up the pressure- something that is dangerous against a strong counter puncher like Kraus. Another issue his cardio. Andy has a real problem with setting a pace, and if he doesn’t get a quick finish he usually looks exhausted by the end of the fight. Basically, Kraus is strong in every area Ristie is not. He has patience, extreme endurance, and nasty boxing. I could see this one ending before the final bell. I’ll take Albert Kraus by TKO in Round 3.

Nathan’s Pick – Albert Kraus
Ristie did not look like his usual self in his last fight at Glory 6 against Alessandro Campagna. If he shows up to fight Albert Kraus looking like that he is in for a long night. Kraus is currently on a five fight win streak which includes three wins in one night as part of the WLF-World 8 Man Tournament. Despite some moments in the fight for Ristie, Kraus will impose his will as he presses the action in the fight and earns a hard fought decision victory over Ristie.

Glory Featherweight 8-Man Grand Slam

Chad’s Pick – Yuta Kubo
This such a good tournament. Really. It’s awesome. And while I’m pretty confident about my pick to win, it could just as easily swing back in another direction. Kubo is going to be coming into this tournament physically larger than most of the others after his attempt to steadily work his way into the 70 kilo division. He’s been undefeated for nnearly the last three years and is the undisputed kingboxing king of Japan. I’m relatively certain he’ll get past his first fight of the tournament, Korea’s Chi Bin Lim, which will then open a path to either Gabriel Varga or Abdallah Ezbiri. Kubo has beaten Ezbiri twice before, and I believe Varga is comparatively inexperienced. The other side of the bracket is full of monsters. Liam Harrison, Masaaki Noiri, and Mosab Amrani will be destroying each other. There’s almost no way they’ll enter the finals unscathed, whereas there’s a strong chance Kubo could be in relatively healthy condition. I’m going with Kubo to win the whole tournament, capping off the finals with a decision victory.

Nathan’s Pick – Liam Harrison
Mosab Amrani knocked out Liam Harrison in the first round of their recent encounter at Glory 5 with a body shot. You can bet the house that Harrison is chomping at the bit to even the score. If they both win their quarterfinal match-ups they will meet in the tournament semi-finals. In the eyes of many this tournament is Harrison or Amrani’s. Harrison will out point Amrani en route to a decision win when they re-match and Harrison then cruises to victory in the tournament finals.