Friday, 24 May 2013 08:08

Andy Ristie had was pulled out of GLORY 5 London at the last minute due to visa issues, but he'll be put right back into action at GLORY 6 Istanbul on April 6.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Ristie will be fghting Alessandro Campagna at GLORY 6 Istanbul at 70kg. Ristie was preparing to fight on March 23 so it only makes sense to put him right back in a fight.

In Campagna, Ristie faces a fighter who's 1-0 in GLORY, with a win over Fabio Pinca at GLORY 3 Rome in November. It's a pretty good fight for such short notice. Campagna's only loss recently is to the young phenom Chingiz Allazov. Since that loss to Allazov, Campagna has as aforementioned beat Fabio Pinca and then racked up two more wins, including one this year where he avenged a loss to Iulian Imeri in February.

With the addition of Andy Ristie vs. Alessandro Campagna, it appears this fight will replace the previously scheduled Jonatan Oliveira vs. Berneung Topkingboxing fight that was scheduled for 77kg. Oliveira just fought on short notice at GLORY 5 London while Berneung was knocked out by Enriko Kehl on the same day in Germany.

Friday, 24 May 2013 08:08

Word has been going around for the last few months that Simon Rutz had left or would be leaving his position at GLORY. Today GLORY sent out an official press release confirming the news:

SINGAPORE (March 27, 2013) - – Glory Sports International (GSI), the parent company of the world’s new premiere kickboxing league, GLORY World Series, today announced that Simon Rutz, the founder and former owner of ‘It’s Showtime,’ the world championship kickboxing league that GSI purchased in October, has officially stepped down from his role as a consultant to GLORY and retired from the kickboxing business.

“It’s been a phenomenal run and I have so many incredible memories from the time I’ve spent in this great sport,” said Rutz, who launched It’s Showtime in 1999 with an event at Kennemer Sportcenter in the Netherlands and promoted his 60th and final event in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Nov. 10, 2012. “I am looking forward to watching many of the fighters we built at It’s Showtime continue their careers in the GLORY ring where the competition is the fiercest in the entire kickboxing universe.”

During his tenure in the sport, Rutz promoted a multitude of kickboxing superstars including top-ranked heavyweights Daniel Ghita and Tyrone Spong and lightweight (154 pounds/70 kilograms) contender Robin van Roosmalen, all of whom have since become GLORY competitors.

“Simon built a very strong enterprise with It’s Showtime, and fans worldwide demonstrated a sincere enthusiasm for his product, so GLORY was fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire the company and place all of its world-class fight talent under the GLORY umbrella to form the most powerful roster in the history of kickboxing,” said GLORY CEO Andrew Whitaker. “We wish Simon all the best with his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions to the sport.”

Friday, 24 May 2013 08:08

SuperKombat will hold their first World Grand Prix event of the year on April 6 in Oradea, Romania after starting the year off with some SuperKombat New Heroes events to find new fighters.

Like all SuperKombat World Grand Prix events, there will be a four man tournament at heavyweight, with the winner qualifying for the Final Elimination later in the year. The heavyweight tournament on this card sees Muamer Tufekcic against Corrie Robbins in one semi final and Nikolaj Falin vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruick in the other semi final. The reserve fight pits Chris Cooper against Vladimir Toktasynov.

Bogdan Stoica will finally make his return to the ring on the card, coming back from his motorcycle accident last year. He'll fight at 92kg against Romano Romasco. Stoica hasn't fought since May of last year, when he defeated Ivan Stanic and won the SuperKombat 91kg world title.

Also returning to the ring will be Benjamin Adegbuyi, as he takes on Mohamed Bellazar. Adegbuyi last fought in December at SuperKombat's year-end WGP Final event where he was knocked out in the first round by Pavel Zhuravlev.

For more information, read the full release on SuperKombat's website here.

Fight Card
SUPERKOMBAT® World Grand Prix
“Antonio Alexe” Sports Hall, Oradea, Romania
April 6, 2013

1. Reserve Fight (+96 kg)
Chris Cooper (Great Britain) vs. Vladimir Toktasynov (Russia)

2. Semifinal 1 (+96 kg)
Muamer Tufekcic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) vs. Corrie Robins (Great Britain)

3. Semifinal 2 (+96 kg)
Nikolaj Falin (Germany) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (Suriname)

4. Super Fight (+96 kg)
Mohamed Bellazar (Morocco) vs. Benjamin Adegbuyi (Romania)

5. Super Fight (-92 kg)
Romano Romasco (Italy) vs. Bogdan Stoica (Romania)

6. Super Heavyweight Fight (+115 kg)
Jason Dutton (Great Britain) vs. Alexandru Lungu (Romania)

7. Final (+96 kg)
Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2

Friday, 24 May 2013 08:08

Peter Aerts might be getting up there in age in the fight world, but that doesn't mean that he plans on slowing down any time soon. Mr. K-1 himself, Peter Aerts is set to take on the young Jamal Ben Saddik who last fought at Glory 4 Tokyo's Grand Slam tournament and had a strong showing with wins over Errol Zimmerman and Remy Bonjasky before losing to Daniel Ghita.

Aerts has been rumored for the event for a while now and now Jamal Ben Saddik has confirmed the fight on his Facebook this morning. It should be a tough fight for both men in very different ways, as Aerts is going to be going into the fight with a fully healed right hand for the first time in years, but will still have to fight age and coming off of a disappointing 2012, while Saddik has to not take Aerts lightly.

Friday, 24 May 2013 08:08

On March 9, Saenchai Muaythaigym headed to Cork, Ireland to face Houcine Bennoui at Siam Warriors. It was a hotly anticipated fight, but we were sorely lacking video evidence up until very recently. Thanks to Siam Boxing News we have been graced with footage of yet another masterful performance from the best fighter in the world.