GLORY 54/SuperFight Series Live Results

GLORY Kickboxing makes its return to the United Kingdom today as it holds GLORY 54 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham, England.

Two title fights headline the card. In the main event, GLORY Heavyweight Champion Rico Verhoeven looks for his seventh consecutive successful title defense, as he takes on Mladen Brestovac. In the co-main event, Harut Grigorian makes his first defense as GLORY welterweight champion, as he faces Alim Nabiyev.

Verhoeven and Brestovac have faced each other once before, at GLORY 28 in March 2016. Verhoeven won and retained the heavyweight title with a unanimous decision.

One of the greatest kickboxers today, and arguably the face of GLORY, Verhoeven comes into today’s title defense riding a nine-fight win streak, which includes his first bout with Brestovac. Verhoeven most recently topped Jamal Ben Saddik with a fifth-round TKO at GLORY Redemption back in December. Brestovac has won three straight, with his most recent bout being a first-round knockout of Hesdy Gerges at GLORY 45 back in September.

Grigorian won the GLORY Welterweight Contender Tournament back in August at GLORY 44, defeating Karim Benmansour and Antoine Pinto on the same night to earn a future title shot. That shot came at GLORY 50 back in February, which saw Grigorian defeat Murthel Groenhart via ref stoppage in just over two minutes to capture the title. Grigorian’s challenger for tonight, the 23-year-old Nabiyev, is currently on a six-fight win streak and is 3-0 in GLORY. After winning his promotional debut back at GLORY 47, Nabiyev upset a pair of former champions in Nieky Holzken at GLORY 49 and Cedric Doumbe at GLORY 51.

The action for GLORY 54 gets underway with the GLORY 54 SuperFight Series, which is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Danyo Ilunga and Fraser Weightman. It will also feature a four-man welterweight contender tournament featuring Jamie Bates, Tommy King, Mark Timms and Dawid Blaszke.

Watch the GLORY 54 weigh-ins below:

Rico Verhoeven (c) vs. Mladen Brestovac:
Round 1: Front kick to the body from Verhoeven. Verhoeven applying the pressure to Brestovac already, bringing him to the ropes and a corner. A combination left punch-left kick by Verhoeven and a couple of body kicks from Brestovac The two are feeling each other out patiently. Left punch from Brestovac is answered with a combination. Two clinches and two breaks. Front kick by Verhoeven. Leg kick by Brestovac. The two trade kicks again. The champion blocks a knee and hits a leg kick. Hook by Brestovac and a high kick by Verhoeven as the round comes to an end. (All 5 judges give the round to Verhoeven)

Round 2: Hook from Brestovac, followed by a high kick attempt. Front kick from Verhoeven. An accidental low blow by Brestovac but Verhoeven quickly recovers. The two clash legs. A couple of combinations from the champion. Another clinch and break. Leg kick and right-hand combo from Verhoeven. Verhoeven doing well on the inside. Front kick again from Brestovac, trying to aim for Rico’s right side which is marked up in red. The two clinch against the ropes and have to be separated once more. Strong left kick from Brestovac. Left hand to the head by Verhoeven. Another clinch, this time in the corner. Verhoeven caught with a hand at the end of the round. (All 5 judges give the round to Verhoeven)

Round 3: Verhoeven showing off boxing skills early on in round three, getting in on the inside to the body. Verhoeven overwhelming Brestovac in the corner with strikes until they’re separated. A couple of kicks from the champ. High kick from Verhoeven followed by an uppercut and another low kick. Verhoeven keeping his distance, barely allowing any time for Brestovac to respond. A couple of body shots by the champion. Brestovac throws a couple of punches, but Verhoeven counters with another leg kick, reddening both of Brestovac’s legs. Another inside combination from Verhoeven before the bell. (All 5 judges give the round to Verhoeven)

Round 4: Opening combination by Brestovac. Another clinch and separation. High kick from Brestovac. Brestovac covering up, followed by a right body kick. The two clinch up and Brestovac lands a couple of uppercuts. Yet another clinch and separation. High kick from the challenger again. The two exchange. A high kick from the champion now. Verhoeven pressures Brestovac into the corner but gets hit with a low blow and time is called. Time is called back in and the two exchange once more, though the pace is quite slow. Overhand left and a big punch from Verhoeven. The two exchange kicks again until the bell. (All 5 judges give the round to Verhoeven)

Round 5: Verhoeven corners his challenge once more and lands a combination. Verhoeven landing a few strong kicks again. A combination with Brestovac against the ropes. Brestovac misses a body kick. The two exchange, with Verhoeven coming in strong and landing hard on the inside. Verhoeven lands a leg kick to the knee. Big right from the champion and Brestovac’s head snaps back. Brestovac just not answering back as the round and fight come to a close, as Verhoeven easily defeats another Top-10 ranked heavyweight. (All 5 judges give the round to Verhoeven)

Harut Grigorian (c) vs. Alim Nabiyev:
Round 1: Both men meet in the center, looking patient. Each man throws a couple of legs. Grigorian throws a combination, but Nabiyev answers back. A couple of kicks blocked by Grigorian. The two clinch up and Grigorian gets tossed to the ground and the bout is reset. Nabiyev starts to apply the pressure on the champion. Block low kick and counter strike from the champion. Nabiyev lands a couple of good knee strikes. Good body shot from Grigorian, followed by a high kick from the challenger. The two exchange strongly as the bell sounds. (All 5 judges give round to Grigorian)

Round 2: Strong exchange to start the round. Now, Grigorian is in control and throwing a flurry. The two retreat to the center and start another strong exchange. Clinch. Grigorian lands several hard shots on his challenger against the ropes. Nabiyev lands a combination that ends with a round kick. Action has slowed down now. Knee from Nabiyev. Another clinch and break. Grigorian slugging punches. Nabiyev tried to go after the champion when he turned his back, but Grigorian reset in time, though the bell sounded right after. (All 5 judges give round to Grigorian)

Round 3: Nabiyev brings Grigorian near the ropes, but Grigorian punches his way out of the pressure. Pace has slowed down, though Grigorian still seems to be in control. A couple of big hands from the champion. The two clinch up and are once again separated. Nabiyev trying to wear down the champion with pressure. Grigorian misses with the spinning backfist attempt. The two slug it out once more, and Grigorian doesn’t seem as fast as he was before. The two throw a couple of hard punches before the bell. (All 5 judges give round to Grigorian)

Round 4: Grigorian is backed into a corner and Nabiyev lands a solid knee. Grigorian can’t land anything significant on his challenger in the first minute of the round. Round kick and combination from Grigorian, but he is immediately on the back foot once again. Another clinch and separation. Uppercut by Grigorian. The two exchange again, with the champion landing a couple of hooks. The two exchange and Nabiyev lands a couple of body shots while switching to southpaw stance. Clinch yet again. Nabiyev attempts a spinning back fist and another last exchange before the bell. (4 judges give round to Grigorian, 1 to Nabiyev)

Round 5: Slow exchange to start round. Straight left from Nabiyev, who’s trying to angle his shots more. Weak combination from Grigorian. An exchange between the two once more, as Nabiyev psyches himself up. Grigorian with the knee. Grigorian tries to push forward but a leg shot causes him to stumble and fall down, though the ref calls it a slip. Grigorian with a hard right. Late combinations from both men and yet another clinch and separation. The bell comes and Grigorian celebrates. (3 judges give round to Nabiyev, 2 to Grigorian)

GLORY 54 Results:
Heavyweight Title Headline Bout: Rico Verhoeven (c) def. Mladen Brestovac via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Welterweight Title Co-Headline Bout: Harut Grigorian (c) def. Alim Nabiyev via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
Featherweight Bout: Bailey Sugden vs. Aleksei Ulianov goes to a No Contest (accidental headbutt) (Rd. 2, 1:10)
Featherweight Bout: Chenglong Zhang def. Adrian Maxim via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

GLORY 54 SuperFight Series Results:
Light Heavyweight Headline Bout: Danyo Ilunga def. Fraser Weightman via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight Co-Headline Bout: Josh Jauncey def. Christian Baya via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout: Adam Hadfield def. Richard Abraham via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Lightweight Bout: Marat Grigorian def. Liu Xu via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight Bout: Elvis Gashi def. William Goldie-Galloway via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight Tournament Semifinal Bout 2: Mark Timms def. Dawid Blaszke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight Tournament Semifinal Bout 1: Jamie Bates def. Tommy King via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)