“Nothing.”
That was the response Errol Zimmerman gave when I spoke to him and asked what would be hard about fighting Daniel Ghita at Glory 13 this weekend. “Nothing.” As you can see from this exclusive Bloody Elbow interview, Zimmerman is a man with no shortage of confidence.
“A fight is a fight. Anything can happen in a fight, only this time it’s going to be different. This time it’s going to be me who knocks him out.”
Zimmerman and Ghita will meet in the ring for the second time in one of the featured fights at Glory 13 Tokyo, airing this Saturday, December 21 on Spike TV. The two men last met in 2010, with Ghita emerging victorious via 2nd round KO. In the 3 years since, Zimmerman got back on track in a big way, putting together an 8 fight win streak and reclaiming his spot in the Heavyweight ranks. After a trio of losses to some of the best in the world (Semmy Schilt, Jamal Ben Saddik, and Rico Verhoeven), Zimmerman again found himself in the win column after his last fight, a tremendous battle with Hesdy Gerges on the Glory 11 Spike TV debut. Zimmerman took that win with a huge 3rd round KO, and now has his sites set on avenging more than just the loss to Ghita:
“100% I will fight [Rico] Verhoeven again, I hope next year. I will destroy him. He’s a nice guy, he’s a good guy, but he must know who is the real #1. I got a little bit unlucky last time, I was not in the [Glory 11] tournament because I lost to him. Now he won the tournament and I have to put everything straight. So I have to fight him again.”
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If that sounds confident, maybe even a bit arrogant, it should. Zimmerman is a confident fighter who believes in his ability to deliver. He is a man who has seen great heights in the sport, but he’s also been there for the lows, as he explained:
“A few years ago, the sport was dead. And for fighters like me and other guys it was really terrible because this is our passion, this is what we love to do. We like to enjoy the fans, we like to share our gift with people. Now Glory’s here and the shows are perfect, everyone’s enjoying it. Glory is doing their job, I’m doing my job in the ring, and that’s the reason they’re succeeding. When I’m in the ring, I want to knock people out and this is what people want to see – total action.”
Though Ghita and Verhoeven were primarily on Zimmerman’s mind, I had to ask about another big name in Glory. Mirko Cro Cop recently signed with the company. Would Zimmerman like a showdown with the K-1 and MMA legend?
“I have nothing to win from Cro Cop. He’s a good fighter, I respect him, but he’s an older guy. There’s nothing for me in that fight.”
And that about sums up Errol Zimmerman. Respectful, but to a limit. More than respect for opponents, what really pushes Zimmerman is that cold desire to see them unconscious at his feet. He’s done it many times before, and there’s no doubt he’ll do it many times again in his career. This weekend, at Glory 13 Tokyo, he looks to gain a measure of revenge and put Daniel Ghita on the mat. And while Ghita will be the favorite, anyone who rules out Zimmerman could very well be in for a surprise Saturday night.
Join us this Saturday, December 21 for Glory 13 Tokyo results, discussion, and full fight coverage.
For more kickboxing coverage, follow me on Twitter at @FCoffeen.
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