Glory 11 preview and predictions: What to expect from Glory 11 Chicago debut on Spike TV

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Tonight, Saturday October 12, #1 kickboxing organization Glory returns with Glory 11 Chicago. This is a huge show for the company as they make their much anticipated debut on Spike TV in the US. The Spike broadcast will air live Saturday night with a fight time of 9:00 p.m. ET. Bloody Elbow will have live fight night coverage including results and discussion right here.

As we’ve already talked about all week, the big intrigue behind this card is the debut on Spike. Glory has consistently put on high quality shows that any UFC fan should enjoy. At the same time, kickboxing has never found a truly strong foothold in the US. Glory and Spike hope to turn that around, starting tonight. As a longtime kickboxing fan, I’m excited to see them try, and I hope many new fans give the sport a shot tonight.

For the benefit of everyone watching Glory 11 Chicago tonight live on Spike, here’s a quick breakdown, with predictions, for the main card:

Tyrone Spong vs. Nathan Corbett

Spong is the known quantity here, while Corbett is a name only familiar to the hardcores. But that doesn’t mean this is a mismatch – far from it. In fact, based on past history, you’d be justified to favor Corbett. These two faced off in 2010, and while the result is technically a No Contest, anyone who watched can tell you Corbett won that fight (the NC came from poor officiating leading to an ugly post-fight scene after Spong was already KO’d). Since that fight, Spong has been on a roll in both MMA and kickboxing, so momentum seems to favor him. Plus, Corbett is a Muay Thai fighter who has tremendous elbows – elbows that are now allowed under Glory rules. Everything seems set for a Spong win, but I didn’t love how Spong looked at Glory 9. If he lets Corbett hit him as much as he was hit on that show, he’s going down. I’m going with the upset here: NATHAN CORBETT BY KO

Heavyweight Tournament: Daniel Ghita vs. Anderson Silva; Gokhan Saki vs. Rico Verhoeven; Finals

This four man Heavyweight tournament will crown a new HW champ in Glory. The obvious semi-final favorites here are Ghita and Saki, and for good reason. Along with Spong, they stand at the very highest ranks in the upper divisions. Both are violent KO artists who have been in there with the best, and have won against them. Silva and Verhoeven are both tough, tough competition, and I think both will give Saki and Ghita trouble, but I still see the favorites moving on. That sets up Saki vs. Ghita 3 as the finals. Saki is up 2-0 right now in the series. Their first fight was tremendously close. The second, from earlier this year, less so as Saki KO’d Ghita relatively early. These are two very evenly matched competitors, so it seems odd that one man would have such an advantage, but Saki is just faster and more vicious, and I see him making it 3-0 tonight. GOKHAN SAKI BY KO

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Errol Zimmerman vs. Hesdy Gerges

This is the reserve fight for the tournament. Zimmerman is a strong KO fighter who, when he’s on, is brutal to fight. When he’s off? He’s brutal to watch. Recent performances have not been great from him. You know his gameplan here – swarm Gerges and go for the round 1 KO, because once it gets past the first, Zimmerman fades. Gerges is a smart, tactical fighter. I don’t see him engaging in that battle, instead choosing to pick Zimmerman apart over 3 increasingly dominant rounds. HESDY GERGES BY DECISION

Joseph Valtellini vs. Karim Ghajji

Neither of these fighters have a tremendously high profile, but this should be a fun fight. Both men are exciting fighters who have had nice performances in Glory – Valtellini has looked particularly great in his 2 KO wins. Winner here is likely to move on to the Glory 13 tournament in December. This should again be a close one, but Bazooka Joe is on a roll, and I don’t see Ghajji being the man to derail that train. JOSEPH VALTELLINI BY KO

Join us here at Bloody Elbow Saturday night for Glory 11 Chicago results, discussion, and live fight night coverage.