This weekend saw two big kickboxing cards that featured the sport’s top fighter at both Heavyweight and 70 kg. First up was the kick-off of the United Glory 2012 World Series.
In the main event of the evening, Semmy Schilt returned to the ring after more than a year’s absence to face French fighter Brice Guidon. Schilt eased right back into his role as the sport’s best Heavyweight, defeating Guidon via unanimous decision.
In the semi-main event, K-1 sluggers Jerome Le Banner and Errol Zimmerman met in a battle of old school vs. new school. And this round went definitively to the new school, as Zimmerman dominated Le Banner, earning a TKO victory in round 1. From the opening, Zimmerman was clearly in charge, pouring on the pressure. Le Banner simply could not keep up. Another very nice performance from Zimmerman who now extends his win streak to 8 in a row. Le Banner is keeping busy, with two more fights coming up in the next few months, but after this performance, you have to once again ask just how much longer the Hyper Battle Cyborg can keep going.
The third featured bout saw Sergei Kharitonov defeat Mark Miller via KO in round 1. Miller was the great comeback story of 2011, but looked very uncomfortable here, headhunting recklessly until Kharitonov caught him. Not a great showing from Miller, while more solid kickboxing on display from Sergei.
Elsewhere on the card, Nieky Holzken, Dzhabar Askerov and Zabit Samedov were victorious, while former UFC Heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez lost under MMA rules to Ruslan Magomedov.
United Glory also announced some plans for the rest of 2012. Starting in May will be a 16 man 70kg tournament. Names announced so far include Giorgio Petrosyan, Yoshihiro Sato, and Robin van Roosmalen among others. They also announced that Schilt, Zimmerman, Kharitonov, and Gokhan Saki will all fight on that May show against opponents yet to be determined. If that all goes as planned (a big if), that will be one stacked show.
Speaking of Petrosyan, the world’s #1 70kg fighter was in action in Italy. Petrosyan faced Artur Kyshenko in the main event of an Oktagon Fight Code show in Italy. In this much anticipated match-up, Petrosyan once again displayed his dominance, outworking Kyshenko every step of the way. Kyshenko is one of the best in the world, but Petrosyan made him look like an amateur over the course of a 3 round decision. If you are not on board with Giorgio Petrosyan, you are missing out. The man is something special, and stands at the very top of the ranks for stand-up fighters in any discipline in the world. He is a true artist in the ring, and he showed it once again against Kyshenko.
Full results from both show, plus fight videos, in the complete entry.
United Glory Full Results
MMA:
Murad Machaev def. Cesario di Domenico (Dec)
Gasan Umalatov def. Anatoly Safronov (Sub, R1)
Ilir Latifi def. Denis Bogdanov (Sub, R1)
Ruslan Magomedov def. Ricco Rodriguez (Dec)Kickboxing:
Nieky Holzken def. David Kyria (Dec.)
Dzhabar Askerov def. Maxim Vyrovsky (Dec., Extra Round)
Jamal Ben Saddik def. Vitaly Oparin (TKO, R1)
Ali Cenik def. Sergej Maslobojev (Dec)
Zabit Samedov def. Igor Jurkovic (Dec)
Semmy Schilt def. Brice Guidon (Dec)
Sergei Kharitonov def. Mark Miller (KO, R1)
Errol Zimmerman def. Jerome Le Banner (TKO, R1)Announced 70kg Tournament Participants: Giorgio Petrosyan, Dhzabar Askerov, Yoshihiro Sato, Robin Van Roosmalen, Fabio Pinca, Ky Hollenbeck, Nonsai, Alex Vogul, Denis Schneidmiller, Chaz Mulkey, Maxim Vyrovsky, Mohammed El Mir
Oktagon Fight Code Results
Chingiz Allazov def. Bovy Sor Udomson (KO, R1)
Iulian Imeri def. Filip Hryeniewicki (Dec)
Yoann Kongolo def. Davide Mosca (TKO, R3)
Yury Bessmertny def. Cristian Milea (TKO, R3)
Mustapha Haida def. Hunkar Kilic (Dec)
Enriko Gogokhia def. Bruno Franchi (KO, R1)
Giorgio Petrosyan def. Artur Kyshenko (Dec)
Petrosyan vs. Kyshenko:
Zimmerman vs. Le Banner:
Kharitonov vs. Miller:
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