Heavyweight Bout: Peter Aerts (105-31-1) vs. Rico Verhoeven (42-7-1)
Luke Irwin: Man, this is something, isn’t it? Freaking Aerts against the Glory Heavyweight Champion. If this was Ghita or Saki, I’d have an easier time picking them over Aerts, but Rico is so young and took the entire world by surprise with his win, I don’t know that he doesn’t get rattled being in the ring with Aerts. This is LeBron getting on the court with Jordan, Crosby on the ice with Gretzky, Mike Trout facing Mariano Rivera. Can Verhoeven maintain himself in the ring, staring down the legend himself? Physically, he can. I can tell you this, he won’t be intimidated. The kid went through Gokhan Saki and Daniel Ghita IN THE SAME NIGHT. To make an MMA comparison, that’s Travis Browne walking through dos Santos and Velasquez in the same night. I think his tools are too much for Aerts, but Peter is too proud to let the kid finish him and I don’t think Rico has a nasty killer instinct yet, and I doubt he finds once against Aerts.
Heavyweight Bout: Daniel Ghita (49-10) vs. Errol Zimmerman (77-18-1)
Luke Irwin: Ghita has a knockout win over Zimmerman, but that was in 2010, and in kickboxing years, three years might as well be thirty. Zimmerman looked absolutely fantastic in October, as he absolutely dismantled Hesdy Gerges. The problem here is that he didn’t beat his ass technically, he went in swinging and connecting. That’s fine against a fighter like Hesdy Gerges. It won’t be fine against Daniel Ghita. Zimmerman hasn’t suffered a KO since 2010…to Daniel Ghita. If Zimmerman is feeling plucky and tries to test his brawling against Ghita, it will end badly. Ghita via R2 KO.
Glory Welterweight Tournament Semi-Final: Karapet Karapetyan (42-8-2) vs. Nieky Holzken (75-11)
Luke Irwin: This is Nieky’s tournament to lose. He’s about to open some fools up. Holzken via R2 Doctor Stoppage.
Glory Welterweight Tournament Semi-Final: Joseph Valtellini (10-1) vs. Raymond Daniels (3-0)
Luke Irwin: Valtellini has looked excellent in Glory thus far and is a great story, but Raymond Daniels has absolutely outstanding amateur credentials and is a buzzsaw right now. This will be close, but I like how Daniels is looking lately. Upset pick here. Daniels via SD.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Dustin Jacoby (4-2) vs. Makoto Uehara (15-4)
Luke Irwin: I still don’t know what we have with former UFC fighter Dustin Jacoby. Uehara is a veteran of the Japanese Rise promotion, which is no joke. I’m not saying Jacoby isn’t a player, but I need to see him face some different opposition, and Uehara is that. Uehara via UD.
Featherweight Bout: Mosab Amrani (50-8-4) vs. Yuta Kubo (40-5)
Luke Irwin: I’d much, MUCH rather watch Kubo and Masaaki Noiri battle it out for the fourth time then see Amrani get a crack at Kubo. Kubo should walk here and hopefully we get Kubo-Noiri IV. Kubo via UD.
Welterweight Bout: Artur Kyshenko (55-11-1) vs. Masayuki Kenmun (24-5)
Luke Irwin: Kyshenko is absolutely one of my favorite fighters to watch, and one of the best fighters in the world to not be locked up by either K-1 or Glory. I’m thrilled he’s getting a big stage to shine on. Kyshenko via R1 TKO.
Glory Welterweight Tournament Alternate Bout: Aleksandr Stetcurenko (48-8) vs. Karim Ghajji (86-9-1)
Luke Irwin: Ghajji is a fighter similar to Ben Edwards is that he’s a regional guy and a big fish in a little pond. He got stopped by both Holzken and Valtellini in Glory, but he did force a bonus round against Nieky. Against anyone in the tournament, Ghajji loses, but in a reserve bout against a relative unknown? I’ll take him. Ghajji via R2 KO.
Heavyweight Bout: Anderson Silva (36-10-1) vs. Remy Bonjasky (77-17)
Luke Irwin: I can’t pick against Remy here. I know he’s not the Remy of old, but I don’t think Braddock is the one to get him. He’s only been stopped in the past decade by Semmy and Spong. Silva doesn’t have 1/10th the power of those two. They fought a little over a year and Remy took an extended-round decision. I’ve just got a nagging feeling about Remy in this one. Bojansky via R3 KO.
Heavyweight Bout: Ewerton Teixeira (11-3) vs. Hesdy Gerges (42-13-1)
Luke Irwin: Did Hesdy look awful against Errol Zimmerman in his last fight? Yes. Is he still a much, much better kickboxer than Ewerton Teixeira? Yes. Yes. Gerges via R1 TKO.
Heavyweight Bout: Jerome Le Banner (77-21-2) vs. Sergei Kharitonov (4-3)
Luke Irwin: Oh, the freaking Haymakers will be wung. Stand and bang. Kharitonov via R2 KO.
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