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.

Glory 19 Updated Fight Card

Glory Sports International announces their 19th event set for February 6, 2015 at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, releasing a partial fight card for the event. Rico Verhoeven returns to Glory to defend his heavyweight title in a rematch against Errol Zimmerman in the headlining bout.  Zimmerman will look to avenge his Glory 9 loss to Verhoeven in definitive fashion. Glory 19 will also feature a welterweight 4-man contender tournament, the winner of which will be given their chance at the title in facing Joseph Valtellini. Nieky Holzken, Murthel Groenhart, Raymond Daniels, and Jonatan Oliveira vie for their opportunity for the number one contender spot. Joe Schilling returns to Glory with a renewed contract after his Bellator bout against Melvin Manhoef. Schilling will face Robert Thomas, Thomas last defeating Mike Lemaire at Glory 18.

Be sure to check back with Muay Thai Authority for updates on the remainder of the Glory 19 card.

Fight Card:

Main Card:

Rico Verhoeven vs Errol Zimmerman
Joe Schilling vs Robert Thomas

Welterweight Tournament

Nieky Holzken vs Murthel Groenhart

Raymond Daniels vs Jonatan Oliveira

Action Pro Gear KO of the Week: Raymond Daniels vs. Franocis Ambang

The first Action Pro Gear KO of the Week for 2015 features a spectacular spinning heel kick by Raymond Daniels. Known for his flashy kicks, Daniels, still has the ability to catch other fighters with amazing moves like this spinning heel kick he used against Francois Ambang.

The pair fought at Glory 16 in Denver and it only took one round for Daniels to hit a home run. The knockout immediately went viral. Daniels was coming off his first career loss and the the knockout was the perfect way for him to get back on the winning track.

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

Glory 16 Results

Glory 16 took place last night in Denver, CO and featured a 4-man heavyweight contender tournament as well as the Glory Welterweight Championship title fight. Fighting for the welterweight title were Marc De Bonte and Karapet Karapetyan. Unlike most Glory fights the title bout was five rounds and when it was all over De Bonte was standing a top of the welterweight division as the new champion after taking home a close split decision. De Bonte was originally set to face Nieky Holzken for the title, but Holzken was forced to withdraw from the bout. We can most likely expect to see De Bonte’s first title defense be against Holzken.

In the 4-man heavyweight tournament Errol Zimmerman proved to be too much for the opposition as he scored (T)KO’s over both the men he faced on the night. In the tournament semi-finals he made quick work of Australian Ben Edwards and in the tournament final he stopped Anderson Silva. The tournament win is a nice way for Zimmerman to throw his name back in the mix for title contention after having suffered a KO loss to Daniel Ghita at Glory 13.

Pat Barry made his Glory debut on the night and boy was it exciting, although not in favor of Barry. Zack Mwekassa welcomed Barry to the Glory ring with heavy punches and scored a monstrous KO in the first round. First Mwekassa hurt Barry on the feet forcing the former UFC fighter to take a knee, when the fight resumed Mwekassa was on the attack and a vicious left uppercut flattened Barry out. It was a brutal knockout and nice win for Zack Mwekassa.

Some big fights also took place on the undercard, Raymond Daniels scored a highlight reel knockout of Francois Ambgang with a spinning heel kick and Artem Levin scored a decision victory over young Canadian Robert Thomas.

Results:

Glory Heavyweight 4-Man Tournament Semi-Finals
Errol Zimmerman def. Ben Edwards via (T)KO in Rd. 1
Anderson Silva def. Sergey Kharitonov via Unanimous Decision

Glory Heavyweight 4-Man Tournament Final
Errol Zimmerman def. Anderson Silva via (T)KO in Rd. 1

Glory Welterweight Title Fight
Marc De Bonte def. Karapet Karapetyan via Split Decision

Super Fights
Zack Mwekassa def. Pat Barry via KO in Rd. 1
Raymond Daniels def. Francois Ambang via KO in Rd. 1
Artem Levin def. Robert Thomas via Unanimous Decision
Benjamin Adegbuyi def. Daniel Sam via (T)KO in Rd. 2
Josh Jauncey def. Warren Stevelmans via Unanimous Decision
Artem Vakhitov def. Igor Jurkovic via Unanimous Decision
Jamal Ben Saddik def. Nicolas Wamba via (T)KO in Rd. 2

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 13 EVENT PAGE

Event Name: Glory 13

Date: December 21, 2013

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Venue: Ariake Coliseum

Main Event: Peter Aerts vs. Rico Verhoeven

Co-Main Event: Daniel Ghita vs. Errol Zimmerman

Notable Fights: Glory welterweight tournament featuring Nieky Holzken, Joseph Valtellini, Karapet Karapetyan, and Raymond Daniels.

Glory 13 will take place December 21, 2013 at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan. Glory 13 will be the final event of 2013 for Glory Sports International. The event will feature another one of Glory's championship tournaments, this time with the welterweight division being at the helm. 

Three of Glory's top four ranked welterweight's will be competing in the night's tournament. Nieky Holzken (ranked number one), Joseph Valtellini (ranked number two, and Karapet Kareptyan (ranked number four) will all be hungry to capture the tournament crown and the $150,000 grand prize. American Raymond Daniels will look to follow in the foots steps of Joe Schilling, Rico Verhoeven, and Andy Ristie by having his Cinderella story come true and winning the tournament against the upper echelon of Glory's welterweight division.

The night's Main event will feature a bout between Kickboxing legend Peter Aerts and recent Glory heavyweight tournament champion Rico Verhoeven. Aerts will look to continue to defy father time with a win over the young and dynamic Verhoeven, who in return will try to add a victory over a legendary name such as Aerts to his list of accomplishments.

In the co-main event Romanian power house Daniel Ghita will look to rebound for his recent loss in the Glory heavyweight tournament finals against heavy hitting Errol Zimmerman. The pair previously met in 2010 under the K-1 banner when Ghita knocked out Zimmerman. You can bet Zimmerman has revenge on his mind and will try to return the favor this time around.

As expected the remainder of the Glory fight card will feature some of Kickboxing's most talented names including Yuta Kubo, Mosab Amrani, Karim Ghajji, Jerome Le Banner and Remy Bonjasky to name a few.

Fight Card: 

Welterweight Tournament

Nieky Holzken vs. Marc de Bonte

Joseph Valtellini vs. Karapet Karapetyan

Tournament Reserve Bout

Karim Ghajji vs. Alexander Stetsurenko

Super Fights

Daniel Ghita vs. Errol Zimmerman

Dustin Jacoby vs. Makoto Uehara

Peter Aerts vs. Rico Verhoeven

Remy Bonjasky vs. Anderson Silva 

Ewerton Teixera vs. Hesdy Gerges

Jerome Le Banner vs. Sergei Kharitonov

Yuta Kubo vs. Mosab Amrani

Videos:

 
Pictures: 
Coming Soon

Raymond Daniels replaces Marc de Bonte in Glory 13 welterweight tournament

There have been some changes to the December 21st Glory 13 welterweight tournament in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to compete in the tournament was Marc de Bonte, but he has been replaced by American Raymond Daniels who was last in action at Glory 11 where he scored a (T)KO over Brian Foster. With the addition of Daniels some of the match-ups for the semi-final round have been changed. The original semi-final match ups were Nieky Holzken vs. Marc de Bonte and Joseph Valtellini vs. Karapet Karapetyan, but now Holzken will be facing Karapetyan and Valtellini will be facing Daniels.

Some of the night’s super fights will feature some Peter Aerts vs. Rico Verhoeven, Daniel Ghita vs. Errol Zimmerman and Remy Bonjasky vs. Anderson Silva.

Fight Card:

Welterweight Tournament

Nieky Holzken vs. Marc de Bonte

Joseph Valtellini vs. Karapet Karapetyan

Tournament Reserve Bout

Karim Ghajji vs. Alexander Stetsurenko

Super Fights

Daniel Ghita vs. Errol Zimmerman

Dustin Jacoby vs. Makoto Uehara

Peter Aerts vs. Rico Verhoeven

Remy Bonjasky vs. Anderson Silva 

Ewerton Teixera vs. Hesdy Gerges

Jerome Le Banner vs. Sergei Kharitonov

Yuta Kubo vs. Mosab Amrani