Saturday May 3, Bloody Elbow presents fight coverage of Glory 16 Denver. Glory 16 airs live on Spike TV, Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. We will have live fight night coverage and discussion.
Prior to Glory 16 live on Spike, Glory will present their Superfight Series. These bouts are not immediately available for US audiences, but feature some terrific fighters and are well worth a look. Superfight Series fights are typically available at GloryWorldSeries.com a few weeks after the event. Here is what you should watch out for in the Superfight Series.
Benjamin Adegbuyi (16-2) vs. Daniel Sam (25-9)
This Heavyweight battle is an important one for both men, but for very different reasons. Adegbuyi comes in from the Romanian fight scene where he had some nice success. He made his Glory debut at Glory 14, winning by stoppage in impressive fashion. Adegbuyi is a fighter clearly on the rise – a win here should move him further up in the Glory Top 10 and line him up for a fight against one of the names of the division. For opponent Daniel Sam, this could be a do or die fight. This powerful English fighter is 1-2 in Glory, and is currently on a 2 fight losing streak. A trainee at Mike’s Gym, Sam has some good tools, but he has not yet been able to make his mark in Glory. If he wants to be a factor in the division, he needs this win badly.
Artem Levin (46-4-1) vs. Robert Thomas (5-0)
This is the most lopsided fight on the night, as the records indicate. Levin has, for quite some time, been the uncrowned king of the division. He was the It’s Showtime champ, and has wins over a slew of big names. At the upcoming Glory Last Man Standing PPV, Levin will be the overall favorite. His patient, highly technical style makes him a very tough opponent. But he’s coming in off an upset loss to Joe Schilling at Glory 10, so looking to get back in the W column in Glory. Opponent Robert Thomas makes his debut here, and with all due respect, he’s pretty outmatched. The Canadian fighter is only 20 years old and has some nice Muay Thai experience. He’s an interesting prospect with a bright future ahead of him, but this is a tall order.
Jamal Ben Saddik (24-4) vs. Nicolas Wamba (42-4)
Win or lose, Heavyweight Jamal Ben Saddik is a fighter who finds himself in memorable fights. His last two Glory outings were wild affairs against Ben Edwards and Peter Aerts, but unfortunately for Ben Saddik, they both ended with him KO’d. With wins over Remy Bonjasky, Errol Zimmerman, and Rico Verhoeven, the heavy hitting Ben Saddik is a threat in the division, but needs to win here to get back on track. He comes in to this fight big, weighing in officially at 275 pounds. Wamba makes his Glory debut here, and is a good prospect worth watching. A French fighter with pro boxing experience, Wamba holds wins over Daniel Sam and Stefan Leko among others. At 230 pounds, he will be giving up a lot of size, but if he can topple the giant, it will be a huge statement.
More Glory 16 fight previews:
De Bonte vs. Karapetyan | Barry vs. Mwekassa | Heavyweight Tournament
Igor Jurkovic (48-7) vs. Artem Vakhitov (10-4)
Excellent fight here between two great, exciting talents in the Light Heavyweight division. Croatia’s Jurkovic has not yet found consistent success in Glory, but he’s coming off a strong win over Michael Duut in Zagreb. Outside of Glory, he has some great wins over Raul Catinas and Pavel Zhuravlev – he just needs to bring that success into the Glory ring. Previously, he has been fighting at Heavyweight, but made the drop down when he defeated Duut. The move could be a great one for him. Russian fighter Vakhitov is only 23 years old and a decorated Muay Thai fighter who is undefeated in Glory. He’s a skilled fighter who combines technique with power to score some impressive KOs. A training partner of Artem Levin, Vakhitov is on the cusp of big things in Glory.
Raymond Daniels (24-1) vs. Francois Ambang (11-3)
This is a battle between two flashy American fighters who can put on a show. Stylistically, Daniels is one of the most unique fighters in Glory. Unlike most of his peers, he uses a very karate based style. He’s a decorated karate fighter with experience in the World Combat League and numerous karate competitions, and rather than make big changes to his style for Glory, he fights very true to his karate roots. When that goes in his favor, the results are spectacular, as his KO of Brian Foster in Chicago showed. But he comes in here off a Glory loss to Joe Valtellini where Valtellini solved the karate riddle. Ambang is another fun fighter who came to Glory by winning a Road to Glory tournament. After his own loss to Valtellini, he bounced back with a very good win over Eddie Walker where he lit Walker up with brutal leg kicks. This should be a kicking battle between two men looking to make their claim in the Welterweight division.
Veteran vs. up and comer, Stevelmans vs. Jauncey is one of your classic combat sports stories. Stevelmans is a fighter who has done it all, competing in Glory, K-1, It’s Showtime, Shootboxing… you name the organization, Stevelmans has fought there, consistently going up against the world’s best. He’s a savvy veteran, with a wealth of experience to draw from. He’s also been struggling as of late, and his last Glory fight was a loss to Ky Hollenbeck. Jauncey will look to make his name off of this veteran’s status. Jauncey has been quietly proving himself on the international scene as of late, slowly stepping up his level of opponent. An English born fighting living in Canada, Jauncey trains with the great Andy Souwer. He’s a very exciting prospect and a great pick-up for Glory – this will be his chance to really show he belongs.
Get all the coverage from Glory 16 Denver and the Glory Superfight Series, including live results from the arena, right here at Bloody Elbow tonight.
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