ROME, Italy (Oct. 29, 2012) – A living kickboxing legend will provide a deep reservoir of experience for the three-man commentary team that will be calling the action for fight fans around the world at the GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ event at the historic PalaLottomatica arena in Rome, Italy on Saturday Nov. 3, live on GloryWorldSeries.com.
Ramon Dekkers blazed a trail for Europeans in the Muay Thai world at a time when it was thought none but native Thais could be successful in the sport and, to this day, if he enters an arena in Thailand, he will receive a standing ovation. Dekkers will provide colour commentary for the live stream and telecast of the event, which will see one 70 kilogram (154 pound) tournament competitor walk away with a tournament grand prize of $300,000.
He will be supported by retired MMA legend and first-ever UFC Middleweight Champion Frank Shamrock, who made his debut as a GLORY commentator last month at the GLORY 2 Brussels event, as well as former PRIDE Fighting Championships and Showtime colour commentator Stephen Quadros.
“These guys are the absolute pinnacle of the stand-up fighting world,” said Dekkers. “GLORY kickboxers in all weight classes are the best of the best and the 70 kilogram division is a prime example of the elite level of skill in the league. These guys are so fast and so technical, but they’ve got power as well and aggression in spades. It should be an incredible night of fast-paced, hard-hitting action in the ring.”
The ‘Final 8’ one-night, single-elimination tournament will bring the inaugural GLORY 70 kilogram Grand Prix to conclusion. The eight fighters were matched by way of a random draw undertaken in Monte Carlo, Monaco last week.
World No. 1 ranked superstar Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan (71-1-2 (1 NC), 33 KO’s) of Italy faces the dynamic, hard-hitting Ky Hollenbeck (34-7, 21 KO’s) of The U.S. while, in the same tournament bracket, Davit Kiria (18-7, 10 KO’s) of Netherlands is matched with Swiss dynamo Shemsi Beqiri (71-7, 31 KO’s).
In the second tournament bracket, Robin van Roosmalen (35-13-3, 10 KO’s) of Netherlandds battles KO artist Tim Thomas (60-1-9, 35 KO’s) of The U.K. and all-time great Albert “The Hurricane” Kraus (66-16-3, 39 KO’s) of Netherlands meets 21-year-old fast-rising star Sanny Dahlbeck (24-4, 14 KO’s) of Sweden. The victors of the two brackets will face each other in the semifinal tournament round.
In the first of two tournament reserve bouts, Fight of the Year candidate Dzhabar Askerov (73-28-1, 37 KO’s) of Russia will take on standout Yoshihiro Sato (49-18, 20 KO’s) of Japan while flamboyant, master technician and seasoned star Fabio Pinca (85-17-4, 32 KO’s) of France clashes with 20-year-old Alessandro Campagna (29-5, 14 KO’s), who has been dubbed one of the world’s top prospects.
Both reserve matches will be fought before the Final 8 quarterfinal round tournament matches. Should any victorious fighters be too injured to advance to the next round of the tournament, their spots will be offered to the fighter they had defeated in the previous tournament round. If that fighter cannot continue either, a tournament reserve bout winner will be substituted into the tournament.
In Superfight action on the card, Mustapha Haida (18-1) of Italy will face off with Muay Thai powerhouse Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO’s) of England at 70 kilograms and Marco Re (20-3, 13 KO’s) of Italy will collide with the versatile Alka Matewa (43-6-1, 23 KO’s) of Belgium at 72.5 kilograms (160 pounds).
The live stream of the GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ event will begin on GloryWorldSeries.com at 19:00 CET/2:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. PST with the event’s first preliminary bout.
For more information, visit www.gloryworldseries.com.
