Glory 21 is done, and what started off as a card with very little hype ended up being a quality event overall. The main event was the big selling point, featuring a rematch between Artem Levin and Simon Marcus. Marcus had won their first fight under Muay Thai rules, and conventional wisdom was that here, under Glory rules, Levin would even the score. The end result was a hard fought fight that ended up a majority draw.
The fight was an odd combination of technique and ugliness. Lots of clinching throughout, including Levin being penalized a point in the 3rd round. As the fight progressed, Marcus seemed to land more, pushing Levin back and connecting with the cleaner shots from the outside, plus better knees in the clinch. But it was a tough fight to score no doubt, and in the end, the judges saw it as a draw.
Post-fight, Simon Marcus was not at all happy, and I have to say – I don’t blame him. Still, Artem Levin remains your Glory Middleweight champion, and now has unfinished business he needs to settle with not only Simon Marcus, but also Joe Schilling. Lots of interesting fights coming up in the division.
Other thoughts from the card:
- Xavier Vigney won the Heavyweight qualifying tournament with two KO wins. His 2nd round stoppage of Chi Lewis Parry in the finals may not have been the most technically solid performance ever, but it sure was sloppy Heavyweight fun. I’m not sure he can succeed against the kind of fighter he is likely to encounter in a contender tournament (a guy like Kharitonov or Silva would be a rough match up for him), but he’s certainly earned the chance to try.
- Raymond Daniels vs. Justin Baesman was set up as a highlight reel squash for Daniels, and that’s what it delivered. The always flashy and entertaining Daniels tried all kinds of wild spinning kicks, including perhaps a 720 spin kick? In less than a minute, it was too much for the woefully overwhelmed Baesman, who was dropped by a body shot and waved off the fight himself. Daniels has not been able to crack the top level of Glory, losing to both champ Joseph Valtellini and Nieky Holzken, and he may never break through to that level, but I am happy to watch him fight any time.
- Neither Heavyweight tournament semifinal was particularly noteworthy, as Vigney and Lewis-Parry both got things done in about 90 seconds each. Maurice Jackson looked terrible against Vigney, turtling up in the corner and mounting virtually no offense – no need to ever see him back in Glory. Demoreo Dennis did manage to catch Chi early, so fared maiginally better, but once Chopper Chi landed clean, it was all over.
- The Superfight Series lost its main event this week, and the result was a weak card on paper. But it more than delivered in terms of excitement, with a lot of quality fights. Highlights were a big KO win for Maurice Greene, and a tremendous performance from Giga Chikadze, who ran through Ken Tran and looked pretty great in the process. Chikadze is now a fighter to watch, for sure. According to live reports, the Manny Mancha vs. Andrew Walker fight was also very good, though the stream was down at the time, so we did not get to see it live.
Here are the full results:
GLORY 21 RESULTS:
Artem Levin vs. Simon Marcus, Majority Draw (48-46 Marcus, 47-47, 47-47)
Heavyweight Final: Xavier Vigney def. Chi Lewis Parry, KO R2 1:50
Raymond Daniels def. Justin Baesman, KO R1 0:51
Heavyweight Semifinal: Chi Lewis Parry def. Demoreo Dennis, KO R1 1:40
Heavyweight Semifinal: Xavier Vigney def. Maurice Jackson, KO R1 1:32GLORY SUPERFIGHT SERIES RESULTS:
Mike Lemaire def. Casey Greene, UD (29-28 x 3)
Giga Chikadze def. Ken Tran, KO R3 2:19
Maurice Greene def. Ashley Epps, KO R1 2:12
Manny Mancha def. Andre Walker, KO R3
Omari Boyd def. Chris Carradus, Maj. Dec. (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
GIFS, via Zombie Prophet:
Raymond Daniels vs. Justin Baesman
Xavier Vigney vs. Maurice Jackson
Chi Lewis Parry vs. Demoreo Dennis
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