GLORY 4 TOKYO – HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND SLAM KICKBOXING TOURNAMENT

Glory World Series-news

 
 
OVER 200 COUNTRIES TO TELEVISE HISTORIC
 
GLORY 4 TOKYO – HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND SLAM’ KICKBOXING TOURNAMENT
 
$600,000 IN PRIZE MONEY AT STAKE IN ONE-NIGHT, 16-MAN
 
SINGLE-ELIMINATION CONTEST IN TOKYO ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
 
 
Press conference photos from Ben Pontier  
BEN PONTIER PHOTOGRAPHY©
 

 
TOKYO, Japan (Dec. 30, 2012) – Over 200 countries across five different continents around the globe will showcase the highly-anticipated ‘GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam,’ one-night, 16-man tournament at Saitama Super Arena on New Year’! s Eve, featuring an unprecedented assembly of world-class kickboxing superstars that collectively boast over 400 professional career KO victories.
 
CBS Sports Network (U.S) , The Fight Network (Canada), SkyPerfect (Japan) , NicoNico (Japan), Premier Sports (U.K.) Sony Six (India), Setanta Africa (Africa), Canal+ (France), BandSports (Brazil), SkyMEX (Mexico and Central America) and EuroSport (Europe) are amongst the television networks that have signed on to showcase the historic event that will award a total of $600,000 in prize money to its tournament competitors.
 
“We are thrilled to be able to deliver this monumental night of GLORY championship kickboxing to millions of fight fans all over the world, so that they can be a part of the single biggest event in the history of ! our great sport,” said GLORY CEO Marcus Luer. “Any of the 16 tournament fighters could headline an event anywhere in the world and, to be able to have them all battling it out in one tournament is truly an amazing thing that every fight fan should have the opportunity to witness.”
 
Additional TV partners for the GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam event include Russia 2 (Russia), Marca TV (Spain), Sport TV (Portugal), Combat Channel (Russia and CIS territories), Ma Chaine Sport (Israel, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Sub Saharan Africa), PCCW (Hong Kong), Veronica SBS (Netherlands), Orange Sport (Poland) , Sky NZ (New Zealand), Fight Channel (Croatia), ProTV Sport (Romania), Sport1 (Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia), Hang Meas TV (Cambodia), SportCast (Taiwan! ), Astro (Malaysia and Brunei) and SkyNet (Myanmar).
 
In the First 16, or opening round of the tournament, world No. 1 ranked heavyweight and No. 1 tournament seed Semmy Schilt “SEM” (39-6, 18 KOs), an enormous, 2.12 meters/6-foot-11 Karate black belt who won the GLORY heavyweight title earlier this year, will face world Muay Thai champion Brice Guidon (28-7, 4 KOs) of France.
 
No. 2 seed, hard-hitting Gokhan Saki “THE REBEL” (77-15, 53 KOs) of The Netherlands will square off with power puncher Raomoru of Japan.
 
No. 3 seed Daniel Ghita “THE SAVAGE SAMURAI” (44-7, 34 KOs) of Romania will battle Jhonata Diniz (7-2) of Brazil.
 
No. 4 seed, the dynamic, high-flying Remy Bonjasky “THE FLYING GENTLEMAN“ (77-14, 40 KOs) of The Netherlands will collide with Muay Thai technician Filip Verlinden (38-6, 17 KOs) ! of Belgium.
 
No. 5 seed, decorated, all-time sensation Peter Aerts “THE DUTCH LUMBERJACK” (104-30-1, 78 KOs) of The Netherlands will be tasked with fighting his friend and training partner Mourad Bouzidi (73-19, 33 KOs).
 
No. 6 seed Errol Zimmerman “THE BONECRUSHER” (76-16-1, 41 KOs) of Suriname will take on 22-year-old phenom Jamal Ben Saddik (22-0, 19 KOs) of Morocco.
 
No. 7 seed Anderson Silva “BRADDOCK” (32-8-1, 22 KOs), the top heavyweight kickboxer out of Brazil, will meet surging force Igor Jurkovic (44-5, 29 KOs) of Croatia.
 
No. 8 seed and former paratrooper Sergei Kharitonov (22-7, 12 KOs) of Russia will lock up with 23-year-old rising star Rico Verhoeven (37-6-1, 8 KOs) of The Netherlands.
 
The draw to determine the First 16 matchups was held on Nov. 20. GLORY tournaments use a seeding system similar to that used in tennis and other tournament format! sports.
To ensure that tournament fighters are not exposed to unnecessary risk of injury, a ‘Best of Three’ rule mandates that any fighter who wins the first two rounds of a First 16, Quarterfinal or Semifinal bout is declared the winner of the bout and advances to the next stage of the tournament.
 
 
About DREAM:
Japan’s premier MMA organisation, DREAM has staged 23 top-class events in the course of its four-year history. Fighters that have stepped into the DREAM ring include Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Shinya Aoki, Joachim Hansen, Melvin Manhoef, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Eddie Alvarez, Todd Duffee, Gesias Calvancante, Marius Zaromskis.
 
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 Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ tournaments and events with traditional, single bouts.
 
 
With television deals spanning every continent, online live video streaming of all shows and the world’s largest online martial arts library, GLORY is one of the world’s most widely distributed sporting organizations. Owned and operated by Glory Sports International (GSI), the organization has offices in the UK, Holland, Tokyo, Malaysia, Singapore and soon in the USA. Its personnel include an unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television and martial arts fighting.
 
 
FIGHTER LEGION®   is on 
 
 
Source:  
Contact Glory World Series
Press relations officer: Contact: Mike Afromowitz
Website: Glory World Series / No:37
 
 

GLORY INKS SEVEN NEW STARTS

Glory World Series-news

 
 
Kevin Ross, Stephane Susperregui, Roman Mailov, Max Baumert, Joseph Valtellini, Eddie Walker and Yong Soo Park join the ranks of the world’s top stand-up fighter.
 
 


 
 

Singapore (Dec. 20, 2012) – GLORY announced today that it has signed seven new athletes from six different countries to its ever-growing powerhouse roster of elite stand-up fighters.
 
Four-time Muay Thai champion and flyweight (143 pounds/65 kilograms) sensation Kevin Ross “EL PRESIDENTE” (36-9, 12 KOs) and rising middleweight (187 pounds/85 kilograms) star Eddie Walker “SHOWTIME” (9-1, 7 KOs) of The United States, light-heavyweight KO artist Stephane Susperregui (32-4-1, 27 KOs) of France, surging welterweight Joseph Valtellini “BAZOOKA” (6-1, 6 KOs) of Canada, heavyweight Tae Kwon Do phenom Yong Soo Park (14-7, 8 KOs) of South-Korea, lightweight champion (154 pounds/70 kilograms) Roman Mailov “THUNDER” (23-3, 12 KOs) of The Ukraine and former two-time amateur boxing champion turned lightweight kickboxing champion Max Baumert (17-1, 10 KOs) of Germany have all joined the ranks of the world’s premier martial arts stand-up fighting league.
 
“We are excited about bringing this outstanding collection of highly-accomplished world champions and emerging young stars from diverse martial arts backgrounds and nationalities into the GLORY fold and we are looking forward to seeing them compete on the big stage where they will have the opportunity to take their budding careers to all-new, unprecedented levels,” said GLORY CEO Marcus Luer.
 
The 32-year-old Ross, who fights out of Dublin, Calif. was named Muay Thai North American Fighter of the Year in 2010 and has since been recognized as the face of the sport in The United States. He holds notable victories over decorated Thai champions Malaipet Sasiprapa “THE DIAMOND” and Chunhawat “COKE” as well as American stars Justin Greskiewicz and Chike Lindsay .
 
Despite an advanced skill set and a handful of highlight reel worthy performances in the ring, Walker of Atlanta, Ga., was relatively unknown amongst martial arts fight fans until Oct. 13 when the protégé of six-time world champion Manu N’toh staged an incredible comeback KO victory against hard-hitting fellow American Joe Schilling “STICH EM UP” in Las Vegas, Nev.
 
Walker survived a knockdown at the hands of Schilling in the first round and, another in the second stanza, but weathered the storm and suddenly unleashed a monstrous right hook in close quarters that dropped Schilling for the 10-count at the 2:13 mark of the second round.
 
Mailov is a ferocious 21-year-old battler who is in the midst of a 15-fight win streak after going unbeaten in both 2011 and 2012 while competing mostly in Russia and his native Ukraine. A five-time title holder, Mailov’s last win came on Nov. 8 when he scored a crushing fourth round KO on Armin Pumpanmuang Windy Sport of Thailand with a knee strike to the body during a matchup in Moscow.
 
Susperregui, a 26-year-old, four-time national champion in his native France, made a big mark in the sport in April, winning a one-night, four-man tournament in Geneva, Switzerland. Despite his relatively young career, the heavy-handed Susperregui has had considerable exposure to the international fight scene, facing rivals Steve McKinnon in China and Nathan Corbett in Australia.
 
Universally regarded as the hottest prospect out of Canada, the hard-hitting 27-year-old Valtellini stormed onto the professional fight scene after amassing a perfect 11-0 record as an amateur and has since claimed all six of his wins on the professional circuit by way of KO. A high school teacher by day, Valtellini is a lifelong martial artist who began his training in Tae Kwon Do at age seven, eventually earning his second degree black belt in the discipline before transitioning to Muay Thai.
 
Just 20 years old, Baumert has already made a mark in the martial arts fight world. A veteran of 35 boxing bouts, Baumert has captured stand-up fighting championships on national and continental levels and has competed four times in the last four months, winning each of his bouts by way of unanimous decision.
 
Known for his dangerous, yet graceful kicking skills, the 31-year-old Soo Park is a veteran of the national Korean Tae Kwon Do team who has claimed the Korea National Invitation Tae Kwon Do Championship at heavyweight. Soo Park established his presence on the international fight scene in his professional debut, scoring a first round KO with a low kick on former Japanese sumo wrestler turned professional boxer, Rikijyo, and then taking out Japanese Karate fighter Daisuke Watanabe, also in the first round of their matchup, with a front kick to the face.
 
GLORY matchups for each of the newly-signed competitors will be announced soon. In the meantime, GLORY will hit Saitama Super Arena on Saturday, Dec. 31 with its highly-anticipated ‘GSI presents DREAM 18 and GLORY 4 Tokyo – New Year’s Eve Special’ double-header event that will begin at 4 p.m. JST with a stacked DREAM Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card and continue with the GLORY 4 Tokyo – Heavyweight Grand Slam that will be headlined by a one-night, 16-man heavyweight tournament
 
The single-elimination tournament field is loaded with the world’s top heavyweight stand-up fighters, including world No. 1 ranked Semmy Schilt “SEM” (39-6, 18 KOs), Remy Bonjasky “THE FLYING GENTLEMAN“ (77-14, 40 KOs), Peter Aerts “THE DUTCH LUMBERJACK” (104-30-1, 78 KOs), Gokhan Saki “THE REBEL” (77-15, 53 KOs), Daniel Ghita (44-7, 34 KOs), Errol Zimmerman (76-16-1, 41 KOs), Anderson Silva “BRADDOCK” (32-8-1, 22 KOs) and Sergei Kharitonov (22-7, 12 KOs).
 
 
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 Slam’ tournaments, which are open to only the best fighters in each weight class. The fight series also includes 8-man ‘Slam’ 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.
 
 
FIGHTER LEGION®   is on 
 
 
Quelle:  
Glory World Series
Press relations officer: Mike Afromowitz  press@gloryworldseries.com
Website:Glory World Series / No:37