Glory (kickboxing)

GLORY
Private
Industry Kickboxing promotion
Founded 2012
Founder Pierre Andurand, Scott Rudmann, Total Sports Asia
Headquarters 30, Raffles Place, Level 17, Chevron House, Singapore
Key people
Pierre Andurand (chairman, majority shareholder)
Jon J. Franklin (CEO)
Scott Rudmann (director)
Cor Hemmers (matchmaker)
Owner Glory Sports International Pte Ltd.
Website http://www.glorykickboxing.com/

Glory (stylized as GLORY) and formerly Glory World Series is an international kickboxing promotion company founded in 2012 by Glory Sports International Pte Ltd. partners Pierre Andurand, Scott Rudmann and Total Sports Asia. The company has its headquarters in Singapore.

History

When K-1, historically the world's premier kickboxing organization, began suffering from extreme financial difficulties in 2011, Total Sports Asia, TSA CEO Marcus Luer, London-based French investor Pierre Andurand, and Scott Rudmann of Nectar Capital attempted to buy the brand. When K-1 was instead sold to Gunil "Mike" Kim and EMCOM Entertainment Inc., Pierre Andurand, TSA, and the other investors decided to start a brand new label and kickboxing organisation called GLORY, and bought United Glory, Golden Glory and It's Showtime in order to secure a top event production team, and to secure all the top fighters in the world.[1] Pierre Andurand, Marcus Luer, and Scott Rudmann derived the name 'GLORY' for the new brand from Golden Glory.

The name GLORY has caused some confusion to arise as to Golden Glory's role with the new organization. GLORY has clarified that Golden Glory, like the It's Showtime organization, was bought and absorbed by the investment team headed by Pierre Andurand, and not the other way around.[2] A number of people formerly involved with It's Showtime, the Golden Glory team and the United Glory event became GLORY consultants, though Simon Rutz, the founder and former owner of It's Showtime, has departed the company.[3]

GSI signed most of the world's top kickboxers such as Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Semmy Schilt, Gokhan Saki, Daniel Ghiţă, Albert Kraus, Giorgio Petrosyan, Yoshihiro Sato, and Pat Barry.

Business

GLORY Sports International has its offices in UK, Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and US. The company includes unprecedented mix of accomplished entrepreneurs and senior level executives from the diverse worlds of finance, sports marketing, television, technology and martial arts fighting.[4]

In November 2012, GLORY entered into a partnership with the ONE Championship mixed martial arts promotions to share fighters.[5]

In February 2013, GLORY announced former WWE Executive VP Andrew Whitaker to the position of the global CEO of Glory Sports International.[6]

In June 2013, after having an inaugural first event in USA at NY (Glory 9: New York) on June 22, 2013, SPIKE TV signed a multi-year agreement to broadcast GLORY kickboxing events.

In August 2014, GLORY announced Jon Franklin has been appointed as new CEO of Glory Sports International, after broadcast deal extended with Spike TV in May 2014 to cover 2015.[7]

In February 2016, GLORY announced a new multi-year deal with ESPN.[8]

Events

Event Date Venue City Attendance
Glory 38: Chicago February 24, 2017 Sears Centre United States Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
Glory 37: Los Angeles January 20, 2017 The Novo by Microsoft United States Los Angeles, California, USA
Glory 36: Oberhausen December 10, 2016 König Pilsener Arena Germany Oberhausen, Germany
Glory 35: Nice November 5, 2016 Palais Nikaia France Nice, France
Glory 34: Denver October 21, 2016 1stBank Center United States Broomfield, Colorado, USA
Glory 33: New Jersey September 9, 2016 Sun National Bank Center United States Trenton, New Jersey, USA
Glory 32: Virginia July 22, 2016 Ted Constant Convocation Center United States Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Glory 31: Amsterdam June 25, 2016 Amsterdam RAI Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands 3,500
Glory 30: Los Angeles May 13, 2016 Citizens Business Bank Arena United States Ontario, California, USA 1,750
Glory 29: Copenhagen April 16, 2016 Forum Copenhagen Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark 1,250
Glory 28: Paris March 12, 2016 AccorHotels Arena France Paris, France 2,750
Glory 27: Chicago February 26, 2016 Sears Centre United States Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA 2,000
Glory 26: Amsterdam December 4, 2015 Amsterdam RAI Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands 8,000
Glory 25: Milan November 6, 2015 PalaIper Italy Monza, Italy 6,750
Glory 24: Denver October 9, 2015 Magness Arena United States Denver, Colorado, USA 3,500
Bellator MMA & Glory: Dynamite 1 September 19, 2015 SAP Center United States San Jose, California, USA 11,000
Glory 23: Las Vegas August 7, 2015 Hard Rock Hotel and Casino United States Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 2,200
Glory 22: Lille June 5, 2015 Stade Pierre-Mauroy France Lille, France 6,500
Glory 21: San Diego May 8, 2015 Valley View Casino Center United States San Diego, California, USA 1,500
Glory 20: Dubai April 3, 2015 Dubai World Trade Centre United Arab Emirates Dubai, UAE 1,000
Glory 19: Virginia February 6, 2015 Hampton Coliseum United States Hampton, Virginia, USA 3,500
Glory 18: Oklahoma - Return To Glory November 7, 2014 Grand Casino Hotel Resort United States Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA 1,000
Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing June 21, 2014 The Forum United States Inglewood, California, USA 4,000
Glory 16: Denver May 3, 2014 1stBank Center United States Broomfield, Colorado, USA 2,350
Glory 15: Istanbul April 12, 2014 Ülker Sports Arena Turkey Istanbul, Turkey 11,000
Glory 14: Zagreb March 8, 2014 Arena Zagreb Croatia Zagreb, Croatia 10,000
Glory 13: Tokyo December 21, 2013 Ariake Coliseum Japan Tokyo, Japan 8,000
Glory 12: New York November 23, 2013 The Theater at Madison Square Garden United States New York City, New York, USA 4,500
Glory 11: Chicago October 12, 2013 Sears Centre United States Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA 1,500
Glory 10: Los Angeles September 28, 2013 Citizens Business Bank Arena United States Ontario, California, USA 2,200[9]
Glory 9: New York June 22, 2013 Hammerstein Ballroom United States New York City, New York, USA 1,950
2013 Road to Glory USA Heavyweight Tournament June 14, 2013 Hard Rock Hotel and Casino United States Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
2013 Road to Glory USA 70 kg Tournament May 11, 2013 The Rave United States Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Glory 8: Tokyo May 3, 2013 Ariake Coliseum Japan Tokyo, Japan 3,500
2013 Road to Glory Japan 85 kg Tournament
Glory 7: Milan April 20, 2013 Mediolanum Forum Italy Milan, Italy 10,000
Glory 6: Istanbul April 6, 2013 Ülker Arena Turkey Istanbul, Turkey 12,000
Glory 5: London March 23, 2013 ExCeL Arena United Kingdom London, England, UK 4,500
2013 Road to Glory USA 77 kg Tournament March 22, 2013 Capitale United States New York City, New York, USA
2013 Road to Glory Japan 65 kg Tournament March 10, 2013 Differ Ariake Arena Japan Tokyo, Japan
2013 Road to Glory USA 85 kg Tournament February 9, 2013 Hollywood Park Casino United States Los Angeles, California, USA
2013 Road to Glory USA 95 kg Tournament February 2, 2013 Hard Rock Hotel and Casino United States Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Dream 18 & Glory 4: Tokyo December 31, 2012 Saitama Super Arena Japan Saitama, Japan 15,000
Glory 3: Rome November 3, 2012 PalaLottomatica Italy Rome, Italy 6,450
Glory 2: Brussels October 6, 2012 Forest National Belgium Brussels, Belgium 5,250
Glory 1: Stockholm May 26, 2012 Ericsson Globe Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 4,500

Champions

Current champions

DivisionUpper weight limitChampionSinceTitle defenses
Heavyweight +95 kg (209.4 lb) Netherlands Rico Verhoeven June 21, 2014 5
Light Heavyweight 95 kg (209.4 lb) Russia Artem Vakhitov March 12, 2016 1
Middleweight 85 kg (187.4 lb) Netherlands Jason Wilnis September 9, 2016 0
Welterweight 77 kg (169.8 lb) Netherlands Nieky Holzken August 7, 2015 3
Lightweight 70 kg (154.3 lb) Thailand Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong June 25, 2016 0
Featherweight 65 kg (143.3 lb) Netherlands Robin van Roosmalen October 21, 2016 0

Glory Heavyweight Championship

+95 kg (+209.4 lb)

No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)
Defenses
1 Netherlands Semmy Schilt
def. Errol Zimmerman
Glory 1: Stockholm
Stockholm, Sweden
May 26, 2012 395 days
Schilt vacated the title after retiring due to a heart condition on June 26, 2013.[10]
2 Netherlands Rico Verhoeven
def. Daniel Ghiță
Glory 17: Los Angeles
Inglewood, California, USA
June 21, 2014 898 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Errol Zimmerman at Glory 19: Virginia on Feb 6, 2015
2. def. Benjamin Adegbuyi at Glory 22: Lille on June 5, 2015
3. def. Benjamin Adegbuyi at Glory 26: Amsterdam on December 4, 2015
4. def. Mladen Brestovac at Glory 28: Paris on March 12, 2016
5. def. Anderson Silva at Glory 33: New Jersey on September 9, 2016

Glory Light Heavyweight Championship

-95 kg (-209.4 lb)

No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)
Defenses
1 Turkey Gökhan Saki
def. Tyrone Spong
Glory 15: Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey
April 12, 2014 471 days
Saki was stripped of the title due to inactivity on July 27, 2015.[11]
2 Brazil Saulo Cavalari
def. Zack Mwekassa
Bellator MMA & Glory: Dynamite 1
San Jose, California, USA
September 19, 2015 176 days
3 Russia Artem Vakhitov Glory 28: Paris
Paris, France
March 12, 2016 268 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Zack Mwekassa at Glory 35: Nice on November 5, 2016
- Democratic Republic of the Congo Zack Mwekassa
def. Mourad Bouzidi for Interim Title
Glory 31: Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 25, 2016 133 days

Glory Middleweight Championship

-85 kg (-187.4 lb)

No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)
Defenses
1 Russia Artem Levin
def. Joe Schilling
Glory 17: Los Angeles
Inglewood, California, USA
June 21, 2014 616 days 1. draw with Simon Marcus at Glory 21: San Diego on May 8, 2015
2 Canada Simon Marcus Glory 27: Chicago
Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
February 26, 2016 197 days 1. def. Dustin Jacoby at Glory 30: Los Angeles on May 13, 2016
3 Netherlands Jason Wilnis Glory 33: New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
September 9, 2016 87 days
(incumbent)

Glory Welterweight Championship

-77 kg (-169.8 lb)

No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)
Defenses
1 Belgium Marc de Bonte
def. Karapet Karapetyan
Glory 16: Denver
Broomfield, Colorado, USA
May 3, 2014 50 days
2 Canada Joseph Valtellini Glory 17: Los Angeles
Inglewood, California, USA
June 21, 2014 348 days
Valtellini vacated the title suffering from Post-Concussion Syndrome on June 4, 2015.[12]
3 Netherlands Nieky Holzken
def. Raymond Daniels
Glory 23: Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
August 7, 2015 486 days
(incumbent)
1. def. Murthel Groenhart at Glory 26: Amsterdam on December 4, 2015
2. def. Yoann Kongolo at Glory 29: Copenhagen on April 16, 2016
3. def. Murthel Groenhart at Glory 34: Denver on October 21, 2016

Glory Lightweight Championship

-70 kg (-154.3 lb)

No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)
Defenses
1 Georgia (country) Davit Kiria
def. Andy Ristie
Glory 14: Zagreb
Zagreb, Croatia
March 8, 2014 245 days
2 Netherlands Robin van Roosmalen Glory 18: Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
November 7, 2014 597 days
1. def. Andy Ristie at Glory 20: Dubai on Apr 3, 2015
2. def. Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at Glory 25: Milan on November 6, 2015
3 Thailand Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong Glory 31: Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 25, 2016 163 days
(incumbent)

Glory Featherweight Championship

-65 kg (-143.3 lb)

No.NameEventDateReign
(Total)
Defenses
1 Canada Gabriel Varga
def. Mosab Amrani
Glory 20: Dubai
Dubai, UAE
April 3, 2015 218 days
2 Ukraine Serhiy Adamchuk
Glory 25: Milan
Milan, Italy
November 6, 2015 260 days
1. def. Mosab Amrani at Glory 28: Paris on March 12, 2016
3 Canada Gabriel Varga (2) Glory 32: Virginia
Norfalk, Virginia, USA
July 22, 2016 91 days
4 Netherlands Robin van Roosmalen
Glory 34: Denver
Denver, Colorado, USA
October 21, 2016 45 days
(incumbent)

Tournament champions

TournamentDateWeight classChampionRunner-up
2012 Glory 70kg
Slam Tournament
November 3, 2012 Lightweight
(-70 kg/154.3 lb)
Italy Giorgio Petrosyan Netherlands Robin van Roosmalen
2012 Glory Heavyweight
Grand Slam Tournament
December 31, 2012 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Netherlands Semmy Schilt Romania Daniel Ghiţă
2013 Glory 65kg
Slam Tournament
May 3, 2013 Featherweight
(-65 kg/143.3 lb)
Japan Yuta Kubo Japan Masaaki Noiri
2013 Glory 95kg
Slam Tournament
June 22, 2013 Light Heavyweight
(-95 kg/209.4 lb)
Suriname Tyrone Spong Germany Danyo Ilunga
2013 Glory Middleweight
World Championship Tournament
September 28, 2013 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
United States Joe Schilling Russia Artem Levin
2013 Glory Heavyweight
World Championship Tournament
October 12, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Netherlands Rico Verhoeven Romania Daniel Ghiță
2013 Glory Lightweight
World Championship Tournament
November 23, 2013 Lightweight
(-70 kg/154.3 lb)
Suriname Andy Ristie Netherlands Robin van Roosmalen
2013 Glory Welterweight
World Championship Tournament
December 21, 2013 Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)
Netherlands Nieky Holzken Canada Joseph Valtellini
2014 Glory Light Heavyweight
World Championship Tournament
April 12, 2014 Light Heavyweight
(-95 kg/209.4 lb)
Turkey Gökhan Saki Suriname Tyrone Spong
2014 Glory Middleweight
Last Man Standing Tournament
June 21, 2014 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
Russia Artem Levin United States Joe Schilling

Contender Tournament winners

TournamentDateWeight classWinnerRunner-up
2014 Glory Middleweight
Contender Tournament
March 8, 2014 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
Brazil Alex Pereira Armenia Sahak Parparyan
2014 Glory Heavyweight
Contender Tournament
May 3, 2014 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Curaçao Errol Zimmerman Brazil Anderson Silva
2014 Glory Featherweight
Contender Tournament
June 21, 2014 Featherweight
(-65 kg/143.3 lb)
Canada Gabriel Varga United States Shane Oblonsky
2014 Glory Light Heavyweight
Contender Tournament
November 7, 2014 Light Heavyweight
(-95 kg/209.4 lb)
Brazil Saulo Cavalari Democratic Republic of the Congo Zack Mwekassa
2015 Glory Welterweight
Contender Tournament
February 6, 2015 Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)
Netherlands Nieky Holzken United States Raymond Daniels
2015 Glory Middleweight
Contender Tournament
April 3, 2015 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
Canada Simon Marcus Netherlands Jason Wilnis
2015 Glory Lightweight
Contender Tournament
June 5, 2015 Lightweight
(-70 kg/154.3 lb)
Thailand Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong Canada Josh Jauncey
2015 Glory Heavyweight
Contender Tournament
October 9, 2015 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Romania Benjamin Adegbuyi Netherlands Jahfarr Wilnis
2015 Glory Welterweight
Contender Tournament
November 6, 2015 Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)
Netherlands Murthel Groenhart France Karim Ghajji
2015 Glory Featherweight
Contender Tournament
December 4, 2015 Featherweight
(-65 kg/143.3 lb)
Morocco Mosab Amrani Brazil Maykol Yurk
2016 Glory Middleweight
Contender Tournament
February 26, 2016 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
United States Dustin Jacoby United States Wayne Barrett
2016 Glory Lightweight
Contender Tournament
March 12, 2016 Lightweight
(-70 kg/154.3 lb)
Thailand Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong Belgium Marat Grigorian
2016 Glory Heavyweight
Contender Tournament
April 16, 2016 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Netherlands Ismael Londt Netherlands Jahfarr Wilnis
2016 Glory Welterweight
Contender Tournament
June 25, 2016 Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)
Netherlands Murthel Groenhart Switzerland Yoann Kongolo
2016 Glory Light Heavyweight
Contender Tournament
July 22, 2016 Light Heavyweight
(-95 kg/209.4 lb)
France Zinedine Hameur-Lain Brazil Ariel Machado
2016 Glory Featherweight
Contender Tournament
September 9, 2016 Featherweight
(-65 kg/143.3 lb)
Canada Matt Embree Georgia (country) Giga Chikadze
2016 Glory Middleweight
Contender Tournament
October 21, 2016 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
New Zealand Israel Adesanya Netherlands Yousri Belgaroui
2016 Glory Heavyweight
Contender Tournament
November 5, 2016 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
Romania Benjamin Adegbuyi Croatia Mladen Brestovac

Qualification Tournament winners

TournamentDateWeight classWinnerRunner-up
2015 Glory Heavyweight
Qualification Tournament
May 8, 2015 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
United States Xavier Vigney United Kingdom Chi Lewis Parry
2015 Glory Middleweight
Qualification Tournament
August 7, 2015 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
United States Dustin Jacoby United States Casey Greene
2016 Glory Welterweight
Qualification Tournament
May 13, 2016 Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)
United States Richard Abraham United States Francois Ambang

Road to Glory Tournament winners

TournamentDateWeight classWinnerRunner-up
2013 Road to Glory USA
95 kg Tournament
February 2, 2013 Light Heavyweight
(-95 kg/209.4 lb)
United States Dustin Jacoby United States Brian Collette
2013 Road to Glory USA
85 kg Tournament
February 9, 2013 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
United States Mike Lemaire United States Eddie Walker
2013 Road to Glory Japan
65 kg Tournament
March 10, 2013 Featherweight
(-65 kg/143.3 lb)
Japan Masaaki Noiri Japan Yuki
2013 Road to Glory USA
77 kg Tournament
March 22, 2013 Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)
United States Francois Ambang United States Brett Hlavacek
2013 Road to Glory Japan
85 kg Tournament
May 3, 2013 Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)
Japan Kengo Shimizu Japan Magnum Sakai
2013 Road to Glory USA
70 kg Tournament
May 11, 2013 Lightweight
(-70 kg/154.3 lb)
United States Michael Mananquil United States Troy Sheridan
2013 Road to Glory USA
Heavyweight Tournament
June 14, 2013 Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)
United States Xavier Vigney United States Maurice Green

Notable fighters

Heavyweight
(+95 kg/209.4 lb)

Light Heavyweight
(-95 kg/209.4 lb)

Middleweight
(-85 kg/187.4 lb)

Welterweight
(-77 kg/169.8 lb)

Lightweight
(-70 kg/154.3 lb)

Featherweight
(-65 kg/143.3 lb)

See also

References

  1. Dave Walsh. "Glory World Series Puts $1 Million USD on the Line in New Tournaments". LiverKick.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  2. John Joe O'Regan (2012-10-25). "GLORY takes over DREAM for NYE show - Fighters Only". Fightersonlymag.com. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  3. "News - Â'ItÂ's ShowtimeÂ' promoter Simon Rutz retires from kickboxing business". Gloryworldseries.com. 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  4. "About Us". Gloryworldseries.com. 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  5. Dave Walsh. "promotions to share fighters". LiverKick.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  6. "News - Andrew Whitaker Named New Glory Ceo". Gloryworldseries.com. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  7. "Glory Appoints New CEO, Extends Spike TV Broadcast Deal". Sherdog.com. 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  8. "Glory announces ESPN partnership and Glory 29 Copenhagen". © 2016 Vox Media, Inc. 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  9. Matthew Roth. "Glory 10 and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Bryan Vera results: Soooo...about last night". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  10. Dave Walsh. "Sem Schilt Retires". LiverKick.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  11. "GLORY Statement on Gokokhan Saki". gloryworldseries.com. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  12. Dave Walsh. "GLORY Welterweight Champion Joseph Valtellini Vacates Championship". LiverKick.com. Retrieved 12 June 2015.


External links

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