Friday, November 7, Bloody Elbow presents live fight coverage of Glory kickboxing. Glory presents their first card since summer: Glory 18: Return to Glory, live on Spike TV. The show has a fight time of 9:00 p.m. ET. Bloody Elbow will have live fight coverage, including results and discussion, right here.
I don’t know about you, but those five months without Glory felt like an eternity to me. Kickboxing fans are always worried that their sport could collapse, and so it’s good to have Glory back in action again. Headlining this card is a very intriguing Lightweight world title fight, with champion Davit Kiria taking on Robin van Roosmalen. That should be a very good fight in the always thrilling Lightweight division. Also included on the card is a solid Light Heavyweight contender tournament that features Pat Barry KO artist Zack Mwekassa, top ranked Danyo Ilunga, Brazilian heavy hitter Saulo Cavalari, and American Brian Collette. Wayne Barrett vs. Jason Wilnis rounds out the Spike card.
Join us here at Bloody Elbow for Glory 18 Return to Glory results, discussion, and live fight coverage Friday, November 7.
And check back next week to get details on all the fights in our previews:
Previews: Kiria vs. van Roosmalen | Light Heavyweight Tournament | Barrett vs. Wilnis
LIVE RESULTS (GLORY 18):
Zack Mwekassa def. Brian Collette, KO Round 2 0:45 – A bit of feeling out process to start, but Mwekassa started connecting at the end of round 1 and got the knockdown in the closing seconds. Collette got back to his feet but was still wobbly at the start of round 2, and Mwekassa just brutalized him with one of the hardest hooks I have ever seen. What a KO. On to the finals for Mwekassa.
Saulo Cavalari def. Danyo Ilunga, UD 30-27 x3 – An upset here, as Cavalari took out the tournament favorite Ilunga with relative ease. Cavalari consistently lit Ilunga up with hands, getting through the defense with no problem. Ilunga had a few moments of success, particularly with his nice step in knees, but this was all Cavalari. He will now face Mwekassa in the finals, but he looked tired by the end of the fight, which does not bode well.
Jason Wilnis def. Wayne Barrett, UD 29-26 x3 – Another upset here. Though Wilnis came in with the experience edge, Barrett was considered the easy favorite. But Wilnis used his experience and tighter technical game to shut Barrett down, never letting him get into his groove and get his offense going. Wilnis knocked him down in the 1st and 2nd rounds, and though Barrett came back in the 3rd, it was too little, too late.
Robin van Roosmalen def. Davit Kiria, MD, 48-46 x 2, 47-47 – Just a terrific, terrific fight. These two men gave it their absolute all over 5 rounds. Roosmalen had the constant pressure and uses his fast combinations and leg kicks to win the majority of the rounds. But in round 3, Kiria nearly staged another amazing comeback, dropping Roosmalen. I gave him round 4 as well, agreeing with the 47-47 scorecard, but it’s hard to argue with the Roosmalen win. Great title fight.
Saulo Cavalari def. Zack Mwekassa, KO, R3 0:20 – A great finish to a great night of fights here. Mwekassa started strong, bullying Cavalari in the first round. But by the second, Cavalari’s work was paying off and Mwekassa was slowing. As the third round started, Cavalari landed a perfectly clean head kick to knock Mwekassa down. He struggled back up to his feet, but the referee wisely waved it off. Cavalari went nuts in celebration – well deserved.
LIVE RESULTS (SUPERFIGHTS):
Omori Boyd def. Ian Alexander, KO Round 3 2:17 – Good back and forth fight at first with nice technique from both. Boyd came out strong in round 3, dropped Alexander with a fantastic knee to the liver, then finished him off with body shots to close the show.
Josh Jauncey def. Jae Gil Noh, KO Round 2 1:14 – Jauncey looked tremendous in this fight, using superb technique to outstrike Noh right from the opening. He hurt him in the 2nd and poured on the pressure until it was over. Seriously, this is a fighter to watch.
Robert Thomas def. Mike Lemaire, KO Round 3 1:06 – Fun fight here as both men come from a more traditional Muay Thai background and matched up well. Thomas was the consistently stronger fighter, with some great knees. In round 3, he landed a clean head kick for the knockdown. Lemaire made it back to his feet, but the fight was essentially over right there, and the official KO quickly followed. Nice showing from Thomas.
Randy Blake def. Warren Thompson, UD 30-26 x3 – Blake was clearly the superior fighter, landing clean shots on Thompson throughout. He dropped Thompson in round 2, but a low blow right after the knockdown gave Thompson enough time to recover. In the end, Blake seemed more focused on putting on a show with showboating and dancing than on finishing the fight. Slightly awkward affair overall.
Benjamin Adegbuyi def. Hesdy Gerges, UD 30-27 x 2, 29-28 – As expected, a great fight here. You put two of the top Heavyweights in the world in the ring, you’re going to get quality action. The story here was Adegbuyi’s nasty body attack vs. Gerges’s leg kicks. Both were effective, but the body shots took more out of Gerges, tiring him out so that he could not implement his game as well as the fight progressed. Really good fight.
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