Xavier Vigney wins Road to Glory USA heavyweight tournament

This past Friday the Road to Glory USA heavyweight tournament took place in Tulsa, OK. Eight hopefuls entered the one night tournament looking to win $20,000 in prize money and a contract with Glory. When it was over Xavier Vigney walked away the tournament champion after knockout out all three of his opponents. In the opening round Vigney knocked out Jack May, in the semi-finals scored a technical knockout over Julian Walters and in the tournament final he knocked out Maurice Green. All three of his knockouts came in the first round. Vigney now joins the four previous Road to Glory USA winners, Dustin Jacoby, Mike Lemaire, Francois Ambang, and Michael Mananquil.

Steven Banks who originally set to fight in the night's reserve bout came in as a last minute replacement. In his bout with James Wilson both fighters flew over the top rope with Wilson landing on Banks. Banks was taken to the hospital and could not continue and Wilson was awarded the (T)KO win. Banks, however, is okay and back home.

Results:

Opening Round

Julian Walters def. Brian McVae via Decision

Xavier Vigney def. Jack May via KO in Rd. 1

Maurice Green def. Jerry Watterson via KO in Rd. 1

James Wilson def. Steven Banks via (T)KO in Rd. 1

Semi-Finals 

Xavier Vigney def. Julian Waters via (T)KO in Rd. 1

Maurice Green def. James Wilson via Decision

Finals 

Xavier Vigney def. Maurice Green via KO in Rd. 1

Road to Glory Lightweight Tournament Results: Michael Mananquil last man standing

The Road to Glory lightweight tournament took place last night in Milwaukee, WI and when it was over Michael Mananquil was the last man standing. Mananquil's night started off with a split decision win over Jameel Massouh, which he then followed up with a head kick knockout of Muhsin Corbbrey. In the tournament final Mananquil squared off against Troy Sheridan, who had defeated each Cyrus Washington and Jose Palacios by unanimous decision to punch his ticket to the tournament final. 

In the tournament final Mananquil and Sherdian were involved in an action packed fight that was close from start to finish. Both fighters left it all in the ring in hopes of earning an Glory contract and the $20,000 grand prize. When it was over the judges awarded the bout to Mananquil, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28. 

With the win Mananquil now joins Dustin Jacoby, Mike Lemaire, and Francois Ambang as the Road to Glory USA tournament winners.

Results:

Lightweight Tournament Reserve Bout

Jon Henderson def. Gustavo Rodriguez via KO at 2:20 of Rd. 2

Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinals

Michael Mananquil def. Jameel Massouh via Split Decision

Muhsin Corbbrey def. Dustin Johnson via Unanimous Decision

Jose Palacios def. Ben Yelle via Unanimous Decision

Troy Sheridan def. Cyrus Washington via Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Tournament Semifinals

Michael Mananquil def. Muhsin Corbbrey via KO (Head Kick) at 0:46 of Rd. 3

Troy Sheridan def. Jose Palacios via Unanimous Decision

Lightweight Tournament Final

Michael Mananquil def. Troy Sheridan via Unanimous Decision

Fighters for Road to Glory Lightweight Tournament on May 11th in Milwaukee

The Road to Glory lightweight tournament is scheduled for May 11th in Milwaukee, WI as part of NAFC “Knockout Kings”. Muay Thai Authority has confirmed with sources close to Glory that the eight fighters competing in the tournament will be Cyrus Washington, Troy Sheridan, Michael Mananquil, Muhsin Corbbrey, Dustin Johnson, Jose Palacios, Ben Yelle, and Jameel Massouh.

Of the fighters involved in the tournament Washington, Mananquil, Palacios, and Sheridan are some of the more recognizable names in the North American striking scene today. Corbbrey and Massouh have been active in the MMA scene the past few years, with Corbbrey having fought the likes of Nick Diaz and Anthony Njokuani.

The winner of the one night tournament will take home $20,000 and a Glory contract. Previous tournament Road to Glory winners include Dustin Jacoby, Mike Lemaire, and Francois Ambang.

Fighters for Road to Glory Lightweight Tournament:
Cyrus Washington

Troy Sheridan
Michael Mananquil
Muhsin Corbbrey
Dustin Johnson
Jose Palacios
Ben Yelle
Jameel Massouh

"Road to Glory USA" applications now being accepted

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.