Light Heavyweight Reserve Bout: Koichi Pettas (26-9, 15 KOs) vs. Randy Blake (26-2, 18 KOs)
Lucas: Koichi Watanabe by decision.
Luke: I believe in Randy Blake, I think the Jacoby bout was a fluke, and he’s still America’s hope for a legit kickboxer. Blake via KO.
Light Heavyweight Reserve Bout: Artem Vakhitov vs. Luis Tavares
Luke: When in doubt, go with experience. Vakhitov via decision.
Middleweight Bout: Mike Lemaire (9-0, 3 KOs) vs. Wayne Barrett (1-0, 1 KOs)
Luke: Barrett is a bonafide prospect after a fantastic career in amateur kickboxing and muay thai. This will be his welcome to the big leagues and get the attention of fight enthusiasts. Barrett via KO.
Lucas: Wayne Barrett by decision.
Welterweight Bout: Francois Ambang (9-2, 4 KOs) vs. Joseph Valtellini (8-1, 7 KOs)
Luke: I’m taking the Road to Glory winner here, but this is the closest fight of the weekend. Valetellini is a Glory veteran and looking to stomp out a Road To challenger, but I think Ambang puts up a good fight and escapes via Decision.
Lucas: François Ambang recently won a Road to Glory tournament, there’s not much else to say really, he’s not very good and the promising Valtelini should embarass him. My pick: Valtelini by KO.
Heavyweight Bout: Anderson Braddock Silva (35-9, 24 KOs) vs. Daniel Sam (19-6, 9 KOs)
Luke: Nope, this one is easy, Braddock takes it easy. Silva via TKO.
Lucas: Anderson Silva by KO.
Josh: Despite being the younger of the two fighters, Anderson B Silva has fought the best of the best in the HW division. He has a far better resume than does Sam, and I think he is able to work inside of the reach advantage of the Brit taking a solid unanimous decision. Silva via Decision.
Heavyweight Bout: Brice Guidon (28-8, 13 KOs) vs. Daniel Ghita (47-9, 36 KOs)
Luke: This is a rebound fight for Ghita. Glory obviously wants Ghita to be in contention, so they’re giving him a nice rebound fight to take on Aerts, Hari, Samedov, Gerges, Braddock or Errol/Rico. Either way, Ghita takes this via KO.
Lucas: Both guys in the main event could really use a win. Ghita is coming off of a destruction at the ends of Gokhan Saki and a KO loss to #1 Semmy Schilt while Guidon had the unenviable task of facing Schilt twice in a row in 2012. Despite the recent losses Ghita is still rightfully considered the 3rd best HW in the world. This is a rebound fight for him but not a gimme in any way, since 2009 Guidon has only lost to Saki and Schilt and scored wins over solid mid tier competition. Ultimately though, unless Ghita doesn’t come back as the same fighter he was before the Saki and Schilt losses, the Romanian is more athletic, powerful and a better fighter. My pick: Ghita by KO (but Brice Guidon is a great guy so I hope to be very very wrong).
Josh: After Ghita’s back to back losses I think he gets back on track against the Frenchman here. Guidon has struggled with the bigger heavyweights, and I think he takes a beating here before falling late in the first or sometime in round two. Ghita via KO.
Light Heavyweight Quarterfinal: Danyo Ilunga (44-4, 36 KOs) vs. Mourad Bouzidi (75-20, 34 KOs)
Luke: Ilunga is my darkhorse to take the whole damned thing. He’s a monster. Ilunga via KO.
Lucas: At 26, Danyo Ilunga is one of the best prospects in that division, he’s coming off of nasty knee KO of Stéphane Susperregui at Glory 5. Mourad Bouzidi hasn’t been at his best lately going only 6-10 (albeit against good competition) in his last 16 fights but he’s looked good in his first fight at 95 kg against Fabio Cyclone. He should provide a good test to Ilunga but I think Rémy Bonjasky’s protégé will prevail. My pick: Ilunga by decision.
Josh: It is normally a shame to see the #1 and #3 ranked fighters have to face off this early in the tourney. But Ilunga has been on a tear as of late, successfully defending his 95kg title twice while amassing a winning streak spanning the last four years in contrast to Bouzidi who has lost 7 out of his last 10 fights. Ilunga via KO in a one sided affair.
Light Heavyweight Quarterfinal: Brian Collette (19-1, 16 KOs) vs. Dustin Jacoby (3-1, 3 KOs)
Luke: Jacoby’s story is fantastic and one that I hope many other MMA fighters follow, but his amazing run is coming to an end. He had the night of his life in winning the Road to Glory at Tulsa, then got KO’d a month later. I’m willing to chalk Dustin’s success up to a ridiculous adrenaline one-night destruction and take Collette, who is an actual kickboxing prospect by KO.
Lucas: Dustin Jacoby was one of the big surprises of the Road to Glory tournaments. An 8-3 MMA fighter mostly known for an unmemorable 0-2 stint in the UFC, he didn’t have any kickboxing experience and was brought in on 48 hours notice. He upset tournament favorite Randy Blake by TKO in the quarter finals and knocked out his next two opponents (including his opponent on Saturday, Brian Collette in the final). As great as that is for him, it likely tells us more about Blake, Collette and the overall level of the tournament than it is an indicator of future success for Jacoby as he got smashed in less than a round by Michael Duut when he made his Glory debut. Realistically these two guys are not near the level of the rest of the guys in this tournament and this fight is pretty much here to ensure that there is an American in the semis. Collette has a nice high kick and not much else and since Jacoby already beat him I’ll go with him. My pick: Jacoby by KO.
Josh: This fight is clearly a product of this being a US card, as these men are the two lowest ranked on the card. They will rematch their fight from the Road to Glory final, and I think Collette gets his revenge on Jacoby for his KO in their first fight. Collette was a wrecking machine in the tourney up until the finals, and I think he is just a little bit better than Jacoby with both fighters being fresh. Collette via decision.
Light Heavyweight Quarterfinal: Filip Verlinden (39-9-1) vs. Steve McKinnon (42-6, 29 KOs)
Luke: McKinnon is a much better technical striker than Filip, and will take a decision against him. McKinnon via decision.
Lucas: Both guys are good fighters but I think McKinnon is more polished technically. My pick: McKinnon by decision.
Josh: In an early battle of top 5 ranked 95kg fighters, I think Filip Verlinden should be able to secure the victory here. I think this fight has the potential to really hurt his chances to win the tournament, especially if it goes the distance. I think it will. Verlinden via unanimous decision.
Light Heavyweight Quarterfinal: Michael Duut (37-3, 17 KOs) vs. Tyrone Spong (69-6, 43 KOs)
Luke: The shitty part about this is that Duut is a legit prospect. Glory couldn’t have sacrificed someone else to Spong and had Duut against Collette or Jacoby? Sad that they’re wasting a prospect against a monster like Spong. Spong via KO.
Lucas: Michael Duut is a pretty good fighter. Tyrone Spong is great and a treat to watch. He is the overwhelming favorite in this tournament for a reason. My pick: Spong by KO.
Josh: Duut got the kickboxing world’s attention with the beating he put on fellow tourney participant Dustin Jacoby, kncking him down 3 times in the first round to secure the win. It was a big win for the 22 year old, but with all due respect to Jacoby this is a very different opponent. Spong’s speed advantage in the fight will be huge, and I expect him to overwhelm Duut early in the fight with lightning quick combos. Spong via KO.
Heavyweight Fight: Errol Zimmerman (76-17, 41 KOs) VS. Rico Verhoeven (39-7, 8 KOs)
Luke: Errol put Rico to sleep a year ago. Rico is older and wiser, and I think he uses his footwork to pepper Errol, avoids the big shot, and does enough to earn the win. Verhoeven via decision.
Lucas: One of the toughest matchups to call in my opinion. Zimmerman knocked out Verhoeven last year but hasn’t looked good recently while Verhoeven is only 24 and has improved nicely lately. The problem for him is that he’s one of the rare heavyweights who lacks the power to stop opponents, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take a decision but Zimmerman’s power makes me lean for him here. My pick: Zimmerman by KO.
Josh: Errol Zimmerman has to be the oldest 26 year old in combat sports. We have seen this fight once ending with a monster left hook from Zimmerman, but this time Verhoeven is the higher ranked of the two fighters. I would pick Zimmerman with no hesitation if not for his terrible performance in the Ben Saddik fight, but that gives me pause. I’ll go out on a limb and say Errol’s left hook finds the mark again. Zimmerman by comeback KO sometime after losing round one.
Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner:
Lucas: Tyrone Spong
Luke: Tyrone Spong
Josh: Tyrone Spong
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