The full card for GLORY 12 NEW YORK is now confirmed, with bout agreements in place to make all the fights official.
Headlining is a clash of cultures and styles as West Coast man Joe ‘Stitch ‘Em Up’ Schilling (16-4, 10 KO’s) takes on East Coast counterpart Wayne Barrett (3-0, 3 KO’s).
Los Angeles-based Schilling, a Muay Thai stylist, won the GLORY 10 LOS ANGLES Middleweight Championship Tournament last month. New York man Barrett, who has a karate background, was a reservist in the tournament.
He didn’t get to face Schilling that night but in his post-fight interviews he said a showdown was “inevitable” at some point. GLORY 12 will be the night it happens as these two top US middleweights clash live on SPIKE TV.
Co-headlining is a heavyweight encounter between two big hitters with a record of finishing fights early. On one side, ‘The Goliath’ Jamal Ben Saddik (24-3, 20 KO’s), the second-largest fighter on the GLORY roster. On the other, former professional rugby player Ben ‘The Guvnor’ Edwards (35-9-3, 31 KO’s) of Australia.
GLORY debutant Edwards packs 256lbs (116kgs) into every punch and has an incredible 88% KO ratio. Every one of Ben Saddik’s five fights in GLORY has been a thriller, including his ‘Fight of the Year 2012’ contender with Errol Zimmerman at GLORY 4.
The world’s four top-ranked lightweights will meet in the GLORY 12 Lightweight Championship Tournament for a one-night tournament which will see the winner emerge with a $150,000 grand prize. Giorgio Petrosyan (78-1-1, 35 KO’s), Robin Van Roosmalen (78-1-1, 35 KO’s), Davit Kiria (21-8, 6 KO’s) and Andy Ristie (39-3-1, 19 KO’s) are the four elite fighters battling it out in the televised tournament.
San Francisco’s own Ky Hollenbeck (45-3, 23 KO’s) is a reservist for the tournament. He faces Albanian-Swiss veteran Shemsi Beqiri (72-9, 31 KO’s) for a chance to be called up to the main tournament final should one of the victorious semi-finalists be too injured to continue.
Croatian kickboxing has a proud history and Igor Jurkovic (47-6, 29 KO’s) is the latest prospect to emerge from the Balkan nation. He faces the young Brazilian heavyweight Jhonata Diniz (7-4, 4 KO’s), who impressed fans when he went the distance with Daniel Ghita at GLORY 4.
Francois Ambang (10-3, 2 KO’s), who entered the GLORY ranks by winning a ‘Road to Glory’ tournament in March this year, will welcome Eddie ‘Showtime’ Walker (11-3-1, 9 KO’s) to the welterweight division. Walker, who trains with Brian Stann and Douglas Lima, was a runner-up in the middleweight ‘Road to Glory’ tournament but his size is more suited to his new division.
American light-heavyweight Brian ‘The Lion’ Collette (20-2, 17 KO’s) looks to build on the back of his win over Randy ‘Boom Boom’ Blake at GLORY 10 LOS ANGELES. He faces fellow Muay Thai stylist Warren Thompson (9-1-2) of Atlanta, GA. Spike viewers may know Thompson from Season 11 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality show.
Dustin Jacoby (4-2, 3 KO’s) stopped three opponents in one night during the first-ever Road to Glory tournament to earn himself a contract with the organization. The UFC veteran has had mixed fortunes in the GLORY ring and looks to bounce back from his GLORY 9 light-heavyweight tournament disappointment when he faces Shotokan Karate black belt Makoto Uehara (15-4-1, 9 KO’s) of Japan.
Russian light-heavyweight Artem Vakhitov (9-4, 3 KO’s) got his GLORY career off to a perfect start when he scored a first-round KO with one of his trademark body shots at GLORY 9. That fight took place in New York and now he’s back to face Serbian standout Nenad Pagonis (6-2, 3 KO’s), who is making his debut.
And finally, Paul Marfort (10-5, 5 KO’s) will face debutant Thiago Michel (39-2-0, 12 KO’s), a Bellator MMA veteran from Sao Paolo, Brazil, in a welterweight superfight.
GLORY 12 NEW YORKHeadline (Middleweight):
Joe ‘Stitch ‘Em Up’ Schilling vs. Wayne Barrett
Co-Headline (Heavyweight):
Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Ben ‘The Guvnor’ Edwards
GLORY Lightweight Championship Tournament:Semi Final One:
Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Andy Ristie
Semi-Final Two:
Robin Van Roosmalen vs. Davit Kiria
Tournament Reserve Fight:
Ky Hollenbeck Shemsi Beqiri
GLORY Superfight Series 12:Heavyweight Superfight:
Igor Jurkovic vs. Jhonata Diniz
Middleweight Superfight:
Francois Ambang vs. Eddie ‘Showtime’ Walker
Light-Heavyweight Superfight:
Brian ‘The Lion’ Collette vs. Warren Thompson
Light-Heavyweight Superfight:
Dustin Jacoby vs. Makoto Uehara
Light-Heavyweight Superfight:
Artem Vakhitov vs. Nenad Pagonis
Welterweight Superfight:
Paul Marfort vs. Thiago Michel
GLORY 12 NEW YORK takes place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday November 23. The event airs live on SPIKE TV in the USA and will be broadcast in over 170 territories worldwide.
