Glory 12 preview and predictions: Can anyone upset Giorgio Petrosyan?

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Saturday November 23, Bloody Elbow presents live fight coverage of Glory 12 New York, live on Spike TV. Glory 12 New York airs live on Spike this Saturday, November 23 with a fight time of 9:00 p.m. ET. Bloody Elbow will have live fight coverage, including results and discussion, right here. Saturday night, I will be live at the event, providing live results and tweets of all the action. Follow along at @FCoffeen for all the updates.

With all due respect to the many great fighters competing at Glory 12, this event is all about Giorgio Petrosyan. The world’s #1 kickboxer, Petrosyan is a phenom with an absolutely incredible resume. Only 1 loss (and that under Muay Thai rules). A draw with the great Buakaw when Buakaw was in his prime and Petrosyan was just 21 years old. Wins over basically every single name in the division: Andy Souwer, Albert Kraus, Robin van Roosmalen, and on and on. Three Grand Prix wins. And overall, the best technique seen in the sport today – maybe the best ever, period. And tonight, this all time great takes to the ring, live at Madison Square Garden.

With his incredible history, Petrosyan is the easy pick to win this tournament. After all, he already holds wins over 2 of the 3 other participants. But this is a tough, talented field – one that will give The Doctor a run for his money.

Up first for Petrosyan is a semi-final battle against Andy Ristie. Ristie and Petrosyan have never previously met, and while it’s entirely possible Petrosyan will again use his scintillating technique to impose his game and shut down his opponent, Ristie’s high-octane, combo-heavy style could provide a challenge. If Ristie fights his fight – coming out aggressive, taking risks, showing unorthodox techniques, he could force the Doctor out of his comfort zone. That’s a tall task, but Ristie’s style could make him the man up to the challenge.

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On the other side of the bracket you have a semi-final of Robin van Roosmalen vs. Davit Kiria. These are two very similar fighters who should turn in a great fight. Both men are tough, hard hitting fighters who like to grind opponents down and win the war of attrition. The potential difference maker here is the power. Both men hit hard, but Roosmalen has found better success turning those heavy shots into KOs. He has also been better able to keep his power going throughout a fight, never letting up on the pressure until the final bell. This should be a tough contest, but look for Roosmalen to come out ahead.

Unfortunately for the winner here, this is almost certain to be a brutal fight with both men taking a beating. The winner here will have a lot taken out of him, and if he does indeed find himself standing across the ring from Petrosyan at night’s end, that could be an insurmountable problem. Still, Rico Verhoeven showed us at Glory 11 that anything is possible, and in a year where Anderson Silva lost, GSP lost in the eyes of many, and Jon Jones was pushed to the very limit, an upset loss from Petrosyan here doesn’t sound so impossible. I certainly wouldn’t bet any of my money on it, though.

Elsewhere on the card, you have Joe Schilling, fresh off his huge tournament win at Glory 10, taking on Glory 10 standout Wayne Barrett in a very good all-American main event. Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Ben Edwards should be a wild Heavyweight brawl with a KO all but guaranteed. And Ky Hollenbeck and Warren Stevelmans meet in the reserve fight – a fight that could have extra significance if indeed Rossmalen and Kiria take too much out of each other.

Put it all together and you have a fantastic night of action – you should expect nothing less from Glory.

Get the full Glory 12 fight card below. And join us here at Bloody Elbow for Glory 12 New York live on Spike with results, discussion, and live fight coverage this Saturday, November 23.

GLORY 12 NEW YORK FIGHT CARD:

Airing on Spike TV:

Joe Schilling vs. Wayne Barrett

Semi-final: Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Andy Ristie

Semi-final: Robin van Roosmalen vs. Davit Kiria

Final

Reserve: Ky Hollenbeck vs. Warren Stevelmans

Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Ben Edwards

Superfight Series (not airing on Spike):

Paul Marfort vs. Thiago Michel Silva