BRUSSELS, Belgium (Oct. 5, 2012) – Remy Bonjasky and Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva were among the top names who hit the scales in Brussels today for the heavyweight fight that headlines the Glory 2 Brussels world-class kickboxing event at Vorst Nationaal Arena tomorrow/Saturday, Oct. 6.
Bonjasky is making his return to the ring after a three-year absence caused by a recurring eye injury. After several operations and the all-clear from doctors he is picking up the gloves again and says he has plenty left to prove.
His opponent is the rising Brazilian star Silva. He respects Bonjasky’s achievements in the sport but won’t be showing him that in the ring during their headline fight. Instead Braddock, who came very close to beating former heavyweight champion Badr Hari earlier this year, wants to take the Amsterdam man out in as decisive a manner as possible, to show the kickboxing world he means business.
In the co-main event, the incredibly explosive Gokhan ‘The Rebel’ Saki meets with Tunisian heavyweight Mourad Bouzidi. This fight matches two combatants who are at the smaller end of the division in size but are at its very top in terms of threat – one solid shot from either will send the other back to the dressing rooms early.
Those two fights crown a card which has already been described as the best to be staged in Europe for several years. From top to bottom it is stacked with a mixture of champions, rising stars and new blood which underlines GLORY’s status as the premier league in kickboxing and guarantees a night of knockout action.
Highlights of the card include the 97kilo meeting between Danyo Ilunga, pretege of Remy Bonjasky, and Turkish prospect Ali Cenik, who has blasted his way from the Bosporus to Brussels for this meeting of contenders. Cenik hopes to emulate the exploits of fellow Turkish fighter Gokhan Saki while Ilunga represents both Bonjasky Academy and his native Congo.
Nieky Holzken was last in action on the Glory 1: Stockholm card in April, where he stopped Swedish standout Alex Harris with the kind of body shots that a prime Mike Tyson would have been proud of. On Saturday night he faces Belgian veteran Murat Direcki and he will need every trick in his book to get the upper hand.
Fight fans should also watch out for Jamal Ben Saddik, who turned 22 on Thursday. He is young in years but big in ambition and as he hails from Golden Glory, he has a lot to live up to. His staredown with Jahfar Wilnis was the most intense of the weigh-ins and the fight is not likely to go the distance.
At 79 kilos there is a classic match of styles as the aggressive Murthel Groenhart of Mike’s Gym, Amsterdam faces the Belgian prospect Marc de Bonte, a Muay Thai stylist who has a very high level of technical precision and a big knockout ratio. And at heavyweight we get to see Filip Verlinden and his boxing skills against the heavy forward pressure of the Japanese-Brazilian Fabiano Cyclone.
The full weigh in results from Friday’s official weigh-ins are as follows:
Heavyweight Main Event:
Remy Bonjasky (105.1 kilos) vs. Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (107.9 kilos)
Heavyweight Co-Main Event:
Gokhan Saki (103.5 kilos) vs. Mourad Bouzidi (105)
78kilos catchweight match
Murat Direkci (77.6) vs. Nieky Holzken (78)
Heavyweight
Filip Verlinden (95.2) vs. Fabiano “Cyclone” Aoki (101)
79kg catchweight:
Murthel Groenhart (78.7) vs. Marc de Bonte (78.2)
Heavyweight:
Igor Jurkovic (101.6) vs. Gregory Tony (will weigh in late by prior agreement)
Heavyweight:
Mark Miller (94.3) vs. Koichi Pettas (99.1)
Heavyweight:
Jhonata Diniz (103.5) vs. Sebastien Thielen (late replacement; will weigh in late by prior agreement)
Heavyweight:
Jahfar Wilnis (107.5) vs. Jamal Ben Saddik (133)
71kilo catchweight
Marat Gregorian (71 kilo) vs. Alex Vogel (68.2)
97kilo catchweight
Danyo Ilunga (97.3) vs. Ali Cenik (97.3)
Lightweight (70 kilos)
Andy Ristie (70) vs. Nordin Ben Moh (&0)
MMA welterweight (77kilos)
Yuya Shirai (75.5) vs. Tommy Depret (76.1)
MMA light-heavyweight (93kg)
Jason Jones (93) vs. Tatsuya Mizuno (91.8)
Doors at Vorst Nationaal Arena will open at 16:30 local time and the undercard fights will commence with MMA rules bouts at 17:00. The main card will begin at 19:00 local time.
The live stream of the event will begin on GloryWorldSeries.com at 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST/16:00 CET with the first undercard bout, a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) rules contest, and continue with the main card.
For more information visit www.gloryworldseries.com
