As the night wore, so did the fighters that were left standing at Glory 9 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.
The first match in the semi-finals featured Danyo Ilunga against Dustin Jacoby, where the two men showed a great deal of fatigue from the start. That did little to stop either fighter from slugging it out and looking for a finish in this exciting bout that saw Ilunga walk away with the victory, and his entry into the finals.
Tyrone Spong had his hands full with Filip Verlinden in their semi-final fight, with Spong looking less aggressive than he did in his prior bout against Michael Duut. In what turned into a competitive bout that surprised the audience inside the venue eventually ended with Spong notching another “W” on his belt and advancing into the finals to meet Ilunga.
Following the last two exciting super-fights on the show, Ilunga and Spong met in the ring to determine who would win the light-heavyweight tournament, as well as a big check for more money than this reporter will ever see in his lifetime. Much to the boos of the crowd, the fight was stopped a mere 16 seconds into the first round, as Spong unloaded a barrage of strikes that caused the referee to step in and end the match, despite not dropping or seemingly even hurting Ilunga.
Ilunga marched around the ring, shrugging his shoulders and pleading to the audience that this fight was far from done, while Spong relished in his victory. With this event held in the same spot that ECW and “Ring of Honor” has graced, I was surprised to not see trash tossed into the ring after that bizarre ending, but alas, Spong was awarded his enormous novelty check and championship belt, and Ilunga was left scratching his head as to why the referee decided he had seen enough.
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