Swinny
11-20-2012, 05:16 AM
GLORY 5 set for Feb. 16 in London with Tyrone Spong-Remy Bonjasky main event
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Nov 19, 2012 at 12:30 pm ET
The GLORY kickboxing promotion next month teams up with DREAM for a New Year's Eve mega-show in Japan.
But in February, GLORY will return with a card on its own. GLORY 5 is slated for Feb. 16 in London, and veteran heavyweights Tyrone Spong (68-6-1) and Remy Bonjasky (77-14) are set to headline.
Spong earlier this month made his MMA debut with a dominant first-round knockout of Travis Bartlett at World Series of Fighting 1 in Las Vegas.
GLORY 5, announced Monday by promotion officials, will take place at the arena at ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London. Also announced for the card are lightweights Jordan Watson (29-5-1) vs. Steve Moxon (29-4-1) and Liam Harrison (67-13-2) vs. Mosab Amrani (48-7-4).
Tickets for the event are expected to go on sale in November, with pricing levels and an exact on-sale date announced soon.
Spong spent roughly a year training with the Blackzilians squad at Imperial Athletics in Florida in preparation for his crossover from kickboxing to MMA. And against Bartlett, he didn't disappoint. He was a massive favorite of as much as 13-to-1 in the fight, which took place on the main card at WSOF 1 and aired on NBC Sports Network.
Just 40 seconds into the fight, Spong landed a head kick that dropped Barlett, and 30 seconds later continued to try to land the big right roundhouse kick to the head. He also mixed in knees, leg kicks and punches against the veteran of nearly 100 boxing matches.
But after barely breaking a sweat, Spong landed a straight right hand that planted Bartlett, and Spong just turned around and walked away.
As a kick boxer, Spong has won four straight, including a knockout of Peter Aerts in June. His last setback came nearly two years ago against Alistair Overeem in the K-1 World Grand Prix quarterfinals.
Bonjasky owns three K-1 Grand Prix titles and just this past month returned after three years away from the sport due to an eye injury and subsequent surgery. His return was successful as he won a decision against top-ranked Anderson "Braddock" Silva at GLORY 2 in Belgium.
"This is a dream fight that kickboxing fans around the world have been wanting to see for some time," GLORY Managing Director Marcus Luer stated. "Bonjasky is one of the sport's all-time greats, and anybody who watched him fight in Brussels could see immediately that he was as sharp as ever. He had the same dynamic fighting style that earned him tremendous success and acclaim in the sport before he went on hiatus three years ago.
"As for Spong, his speed and technicality are just amazing. He is unbelievably agile for a heavyweight and he makes fighting look like ballet. He also has plenty of power and a real killer instinct, which we saw in his win over Peter Aerts earlier this year. Bonjasky and Spong are two of the most natural athletes the sport of kickboxing has ever seen."
No broadcast details have been announced for GLORY 5, but Luer and GLORY Chairman Pierre Andurand recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio that they expect to have a television deal in place soon, not just for the February show, but for the combined GLORY/DREAM show in December.
The resurgence of DREAM was announced this past month, and soon after it was announced DREAM 18 will be combined with the GLORY 4 Tokyo Heavyweight Grand Slam, which was planned for earlier in the month.
The new show, "DREAM 18 and GLORY 4 Tokyo – New Year's Eve Special," takes place at 4 p.m. (2 a.m. ET) Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, near Tokyo.
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Nov 19, 2012 at 12:30 pm ET
The GLORY kickboxing promotion next month teams up with DREAM for a New Year's Eve mega-show in Japan.
But in February, GLORY will return with a card on its own. GLORY 5 is slated for Feb. 16 in London, and veteran heavyweights Tyrone Spong (68-6-1) and Remy Bonjasky (77-14) are set to headline.
Spong earlier this month made his MMA debut with a dominant first-round knockout of Travis Bartlett at World Series of Fighting 1 in Las Vegas.
GLORY 5, announced Monday by promotion officials, will take place at the arena at ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London. Also announced for the card are lightweights Jordan Watson (29-5-1) vs. Steve Moxon (29-4-1) and Liam Harrison (67-13-2) vs. Mosab Amrani (48-7-4).
Tickets for the event are expected to go on sale in November, with pricing levels and an exact on-sale date announced soon.
Spong spent roughly a year training with the Blackzilians squad at Imperial Athletics in Florida in preparation for his crossover from kickboxing to MMA. And against Bartlett, he didn't disappoint. He was a massive favorite of as much as 13-to-1 in the fight, which took place on the main card at WSOF 1 and aired on NBC Sports Network.
Just 40 seconds into the fight, Spong landed a head kick that dropped Barlett, and 30 seconds later continued to try to land the big right roundhouse kick to the head. He also mixed in knees, leg kicks and punches against the veteran of nearly 100 boxing matches.
But after barely breaking a sweat, Spong landed a straight right hand that planted Bartlett, and Spong just turned around and walked away.
As a kick boxer, Spong has won four straight, including a knockout of Peter Aerts in June. His last setback came nearly two years ago against Alistair Overeem in the K-1 World Grand Prix quarterfinals.
Bonjasky owns three K-1 Grand Prix titles and just this past month returned after three years away from the sport due to an eye injury and subsequent surgery. His return was successful as he won a decision against top-ranked Anderson "Braddock" Silva at GLORY 2 in Belgium.
"This is a dream fight that kickboxing fans around the world have been wanting to see for some time," GLORY Managing Director Marcus Luer stated. "Bonjasky is one of the sport's all-time greats, and anybody who watched him fight in Brussels could see immediately that he was as sharp as ever. He had the same dynamic fighting style that earned him tremendous success and acclaim in the sport before he went on hiatus three years ago.
"As for Spong, his speed and technicality are just amazing. He is unbelievably agile for a heavyweight and he makes fighting look like ballet. He also has plenty of power and a real killer instinct, which we saw in his win over Peter Aerts earlier this year. Bonjasky and Spong are two of the most natural athletes the sport of kickboxing has ever seen."
No broadcast details have been announced for GLORY 5, but Luer and GLORY Chairman Pierre Andurand recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio that they expect to have a television deal in place soon, not just for the February show, but for the combined GLORY/DREAM show in December.
The resurgence of DREAM was announced this past month, and soon after it was announced DREAM 18 will be combined with the GLORY 4 Tokyo Heavyweight Grand Slam, which was planned for earlier in the month.
The new show, "DREAM 18 and GLORY 4 Tokyo – New Year's Eve Special," takes place at 4 p.m. (2 a.m. ET) Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, near Tokyo.