“We like to broadcast live whenever we can and a gap in the schedule meant that Spike TV were able to give us this live slot for GLORY 22 FRANCE in the US,” says Jon Franklin, GLORY CEO.
“Personally I can’t think of a better way to start the weekend than to tune in to this one; this is one of the most stacked cards we have ever put together and there’s going to be some seriously explosive action in that ring on fight night.”
Aside from the heavyweight title fight, GLORY 22 FRANCE also features a four-man Lightweight Contender Tournament which will see the winner move forward to a shot at the World Lightweight Championship held by Robin van Roosmalen.
Former champion Davit Kiria is the favorite; he faces Thai newcomer Sitthichai in the semi-finals. Sitthichai is a former Lumpini Stadium champion with an action-heavy style which has kickboxing fans excited about this GLORY debut.
In the second semi-final, two young prospects face off. Canada’s Josh Jauncey, 22, has gone 3-0 in GLORY with two stoppages and has been very impressive. He is matched with Niclas Larsen of Denmark, a Muay Thai champion with an unorthodox game. He has also impressed in his two GLORY outings to date.
The broadcast commencing at 4pm ET means that some viewers will surely be lost to workday hours or rush-hour traffic, but Franklin is confident that will be balanced out.
“Certainly it will be the earliest we have aired a show in America and commencing at 4pm on a Friday means some fans may still be in work or traffic, but there will also be others who will be better placed to tune in at that time. College students, for example, will often be out socializing on a Friday night.
“There is a certain element of experiment to airing this live at 4pm but Spike TV felt that going live was optimum and we also prefer to be live wherever possible, so it will be interesting to see the viewership data after the broadcast.”
About the author
