The line-up for next week’s GLORY 29 Copenhagen four-man Heavyweight Contender Tournament is finally complete as Russian newcomer Kirill Kornilov debuts in a competition which will see the winner go forward to a title shot against Rico Verhoeven.
Kornilov, 25, is 7-1 as a professional and has most of his experience in the respected TATNEFT organization in his native Russia, organizer of ‘Tatneft Cup’ tournaments. He also has a single appearance in Chinese organization KUNLUN to his name.
His debut is a tough one; he is matched with Jahfarr Wilnis (29-6-1, 8 KO) in the semi-finals. Wilnis has been on a run of good form lately, winning the KUNLUN heavyweight title. In October last year he was a finalist in the GLORY 24 DENVER Heavyweight Contender Tournament.
Wilnis lost a decision to Benjamin Adegbuyi in the finals, but many observers felt the decision should have gone the other way. This tournament gives him a second chance at earning a title shot though victory would mean he would be fighting a friend: he and Verhoeven are regular training partners.
The tournament’s other semi-final bracket features another debutant, Ismael ‘Mr. Pain’ Londt (36-6-1, 18 KO’s). He has been on the radar for a long time and is keen to make an impressive debut, he faces another GLORY veteran in the form of Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (39-13-1, 24 KO’s), a perennial contender who occupies something of a gatekeeper status for the division’s upper end.
GLORY 29 COPENHAGEN is headlined by a world title fight as Nieky ‘The Natural’ Holzken (88-11, 46 KO’s) defends the world championship against #4-ranked Swiss challenger Yoann Kongolo (61-6, 45 KO’s).
The event airs live in the US on ESPN 3, Saturday, April 16 at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT, re-airing that same day on ESPN 2 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. It will be preceded by the GLORY 29 SUPERFIGHT SERIES card which airs live on UFC Fight Pass