Glory 23 Results: Nieky Holzken stops Raymond Daniels to win Glory Welterweight Title

Glory 23 took place tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night's main event featured Nieky Holzken vs. Raymond Daniels for the Glory Welterweight Championship. The fight was a re-match from their Glory 19 bout in which Holzken defeated Daniels by third round (T)KO. 

Daniels came out aggressive to start the bout, while Holzken seemed content with picking his shots in the first round. In the second round Holzken began to get a little more aggressive and stalk Daniels. Both fighters were effective mixing their strikes. Daniels showed a more complete arsenal than he had done previously in his Glory fights, while Holzken was accurate with his strikes as usual connecting with low kicks and working the body with punches. In the third round Holzken came out as the aggressor and was able to land a few solid punches and a knee as he cornered Daniels. The knee opened a massive cut on Daniels left eye, Holzken went in for the kill and unloaded punches to the head and body before backing away. Referee John McCarthy moved in and the fight was stopped immediately. The cut was on the eye lid of Daniels, it was a good stoppage by McCarthy as some serious damage could have occurred if the fight had continued. With the stoppage Holzken captured the Glory Welterweight Championship and has now won his last eight fights, with six of those wins coming by (T)KO.

In the middleweight tournament Dustin Jacoby punched his way to victory, winning both of his bouts by stoppage. In the tournament semi-final he stopped Ariel Sepulveda with one second left in the first round and in the tournament final he stopped Casey Greene with strikes in the second round. The tournament victory is huge for Jacoby, he entered Glory after winning a Road to Glory tournament on less than 24 hours notice. He scored three knockouts in the Road to Glory tournament which was also his Kickboxing debut, but was immediately put in the ring with fighters that had a lot more experience and it showed. Coming into the tournament Jacoby had lost his last four fights. Hopefully Jacoby can build on the tournament win and climb back up the Glory ladder.

Xavier Vigney had stiff test in Daniel Sam at Glory 23. Vigney was coming off having won the heavyweight tournament at Glory 21 and had a lot of eyes on him this bout. He continued his momentum against Sam. Vigney pushed the pace and was successful through out the fight in pressuring Sam and connecting with low kicks and punches. The judges awarded a split decision victory to Vigney. The win is easily the biggest of Vigney's career to date.

Results:

Nieky Holzken def. Raymond Daniels via (T)KO (Cut) at 1:36 of Rd. 3 - Wins Glory Welterweight Championship

Xavier Vigney def. Daniel Sam via Split Decision

Tournament Semi-Finals

Casey Greene def. Quinton O'Brien via Unanimous Decision

Dustin Jacoby def. Ariel Sepulveda via KO at 2:59 of Rd. 1

Tournament Final

Dustin Jacoby def. Casey Greene via (T)KO at 1:19 of Rd. 2

Super Fight Series

Jamal Ben Saddik def. Anderson Silva via (T)KO at 2:55 of Rd. 3

Matt Baker def. Edward Hyman via Unanimous Decision

Chad Sugden def. Murthel Groenhart via Split Decision

Anvar Boynazarov def. Giga Chikadse via Split Decision

Glory 23 Fight Breakdown: Nieky Holzken vs. Raymond Daniels

Nieky Holzken has long been considered the best striker in his weight class, despite not having the Glory Championship around his waist. Raymond Daniels is a fan favorite because of his flashy fighting style that has yielded some amazing knockouts. At Glory 23 one of these two will be crowned the new Glory Welterweight Champion.

The pair has fought before in the finals of the Glory 19 Welterweight Contenders Tournament. It was a one sided bout in favor of Holzken. From the start of the fight it was clear Holzken was looking to score a stoppage, he was very aggressive and didn’t look to give Daniels any room. He knocked Daniels down several times in the bout eventually scoring a third round stoppage.

Holzken is very adaptable in the ring. He can hang bag and pick you apart with his accuracy or he can press the action and punish you with his fluid combinations. Pressuring Daniels and not giving him room to throw any of his spinning kicks seems to be the best strategy here. Expect to see Holzken come out as aggressive as he did the first time. He will attack the body early like he did in their first bout and look to wear Daniels down.

Daniels is a solid fighter but seems to go to the well too much. It is safe to assume he will be throwing multiple spinning kicks throughout the fight, which he has proven he can land with lethal consequences. If Holzken keeps the pressure on him it will make it more difficult to throw the spinning kicks effectively, however, it won’t stop him from attempting them as proven in their first bout. Daniels needs to use all his tools, meaning he needs to let his hands go a lot more and using them to set up his kicks.

This fight seems like it is set to be a repeat of their first encounter, it is hard to picture a lot changing in just a few months. Daniels is game, but Holzken is likely going to use his combinations to attack the head and body to wear down Daniels. It is a fight and anything can happen, but for Holzken to get caught with a spinning heel kick seems unlikely.

You can view their first bout below.

Countdown To Glory 23: The Raymond Daniels Special

Raymond Daniels will fight Nieky Holzken for the vacant Glory Welterweight Championship on August 7th in Las Vegas. Daniels has built a reputation as a showman in the ring and is known for his incredible knockouts that usually involve some type of spinning attack. 

He dropped a spirited fight to Holzken earlier this year in the finals of the Glory Welterweight Contender Tournament, and will now be looking to avenge the loss and capture the belt at Glory 23.

Check out Glory's Countdown to Glory 23: The Raymond Daniels Special.

Countdown To Glory 23: The Nieky Holzken Special

Nieky Holzken will look to capture the Glory Welterweight Championship at Glory 23 on August 7th when he fights Raymond Daniels in Las Vegas. The pair fought earlier this year in the finals of the Glory Welterweight Contender Tournament at Glory 19. Holzken won the bout by (T)KO and was expected to fight Joseph Valtellini for the title, however, Valtellini vacated his title for medical reasons setting up the re-match between Holzken and Daniels for the title.

Check out the Contdown To Glory 23: The Nieky Holzken Special.

Glory 23 Fight Card Finalized

The fight card for Glory 23 on August 7th in Las Vegas has been finalized. The promotions first trip to Sin City will feature a welterweight title bout between Nieky Holzken (@NiekyHolzken) and Raymond Daniels (@RD_GOAT) as previously announced. 

Some of the new additions to the fight card are Quinton O'Brien and Ariel Sepulveda (@ArielSmash10) who will be part of the middleweight contender tournament. O'Brien will fight Casey Greene (@CaseyGreene1) and Sepuvelda will fight Dustin Jacoby (@DustinJacobyDJ).

Other fights added are heavyweights Anderson Silva (@AndersonBradock) vs. Jamal Ben Saddik (@BenSaddikJamal) and Matt Baker vs. Edward Hyman.

Fight Card:

Nieky Holzken vs. Raymond Daniels for Glory Welterweight Championship

Xavier Vigney vs. Daniel Sam

Anderson Silva vs. Jamal Ben Saddik

Murthel Groenhart vs. Chad Sugden

Matt Baker vs. Edward Hyman

Giga Chikadze vs. Anvar Boynazarav

Middleweight Contender Tournament

Casey Greene vs. Quinton O'Brien

Dustin Jacoby vs. Ariel Sepulveda

Updated Glory 23 Fight Card, Vigney vs. Sam set as co-main event

Glory 23 is set for August 7th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and a few more bouts have been confirmed. In addition to the main event bout between Nieky Holzken and Raymond Daniels, the co-main event will feature Xavier Vigney vs. Daniel Sam in a heavyweight bout.

Vigney will be looking to build upon his recent heavyweight tournament win at Glory 22 in San Diego this past June. Sam is considered to be the stiffest test that Vigney has faced in his career thus far.

Glory will also hold a 4-man middleweight tournament that will feature Casey Greene vs. Quinton O'Brien and Dustin Jacoby vs. Ariel Sepulveda. All four fighters will be looking to climb up the Glory rankings. A nice boost should come to the winner of the tournament.

Stand out striker Murthel Groenhart will also be in action on the Super Fight Series portion on the card when he faces Chad Sugden of the UK.

Fight Card:

Nieky Holzken vs. Raymond Daniels

Xavier Vigney vs. Daniel Sam

Murthel Groenhart vs. Chad Sugden

Giga Chickadze vs. Anvar Boynazarov

Holzken vs. Daniels title fight set for Glory 23 main event

Glory 23 has been announced for August 7th in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. It will be the promotions first trip to Sin City. The main event for the night will be a welterweight title fight between Nieky Holzken (@NiekyHolzken) and Raymond Daniels (@RD_GOAT).

Holzken and Daniels fought previously at Glory 19 in the finals of the welterweight contender tournament. Holzken defeated Daniels by third round (T)KO to earn his title shot, but with Joseph Valtellini recently vacating the title the Holzken vs. Daniels rematch was set.

Holzken is undefeated in the Glory ring at 8-0, many fans have considered him the best Glory welterweight despite not having the title. Daniels is 4-2 in the Glory ring with all four of his wins coming by (T)KO. 

Their first bout was exciting and this one should prove to be an entertaining fight as well.