Glory 46 takes place this weekend and includes both a Middleweight title fight and the Glory debut of Bigfoot. Get a full preview here.
There’s no UFC this Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean there’s no combat sports action out there. For fans of the stand-up side of MMA, there are a bounty of options including three separate boxing cards worth noting plus the latest kickboxing action from Glory. Glory 46 China takes place this Saturday, October 14. The action begins with the Superfight Series on Fight Pass at 6:00 a.m. ET, followed by Glory 46 on ESPN3 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
GLORY 46 CHINA PREVIEW
Simon Marcus (47-3-2) vs. Alex Periera (24-6) – Middleweight Title
The main event on the night is a Middleweight title defense from Simon Marcus. Marcus is a highly decorated Muay Thai standout who made the transition to Glory rules in 2014. He’s been successful, winning the Middleweight title twice now, but he also has not quite showed the same level of dominance he did in Muay Thai. He has three losses since that transition – all KOs or TKOs where he got sloppy with his defense and had to pay for it. Marcus has a very traditional Muay Thai style, with lots of clinches that don’t quite translate perfectly to Glory. Challenging him is Brazil’s Periera, a hard-hitting fighter who has been in and out of Glory since 2014. He made a return to the company in April at Glory 40 – oddly, he lost in the finals of the tournament there, but was given the title shot regardless. Periera has heavy hands and is an aggressive fighter, which makes him a danger to Marcus, but he’s also a definite step down in terms of technical skill, and is the kind of fighter Marcus can likely pick apart.
Rico Verhoeven (51-10) vs. Antonio Silva (Debut) – Heavyweight
This fight takes place on the Superfight Series, and while it’s not the main event of the card, it’s definitely the one most MMA fans will be interested in. Bigfoot Silva makes his kickboxing debut here, taking on Glory’s Heavyweight champion in a non-title fight. There was a lot of frustration from fans when this one was announced, and it’s easy to see why. On one hand you have Verhoeven – easily the top Heavyweight in the world, and someone you have to mention when debating the sport’s overall #1 pound for pound fighter today. Verhoeven has held the Glory title for 3 years and has virtually cleaned out the division, but he also hasn’t defended the belt since September 2016 – this is his 3rd straight non-title fight. On the other side you have Bigfoot, who is currently riding a 1-8(1) run in MMA and making his kickboxing debut. Of those 8 losses, all but one have been via KO, and pretty bad KOs too. It’s become clear that the 38 year old Silva just shouldn’t be fighting anymore, and fans are not happy to see him in there these days, especially against a fighter who could very easily put his lights out again in violent fashion. This fight will certainly draw eyes – but I don’t know if any serious fans from either the kickboxing or MMA side feel good about it about it.
Full Card
These are the two marquee fights, and the remainder of the card, both for Glory 46 and the Superfight Series, puts the focus squarely on Chinese fighters. That’s not a bad move at all – Glory is looking to expand into the potentially lucrative Chinese market, and they are building up Chinese fighters here to help that expansion. It also doesn’t mean they are going to be bad fights by any means. Organizations like Kunlun and Wu Lin Feng have revealed in recent years that there is a fertile Chinese kickboxing scene ready to be tapped. It does however mean that it’s a lot of debuting fighters without much recognition for all but the most hardcore fans.
The Glory 46 main card includes a Featherweight tournament that could provide some fun matches. In the co-headline slot, 21 year old Quanchao Luo faces Australia’s Junior Tafa, a Mark Hunt protege. On the Superfight Series side, the fighter perhaps best known to Glory fans is Thailand’s Petchpanomrung. He takes on the debuting Lei Xie. One interesting addition to the card is Glory’s first Pro Sanda fight. Sanda is probably best known to MMA fans because of Cung Le’s connection there. It includes more grappling and throws than regular Glory rules and will be a cool addition to Glory 46.
Get full fight card below and join Bloody Elbow Saturday morning bright and early for Glory 46.
GLORY 46 FIGHT CARD
Middleweight Title Headline Bout: Simon Marcus vs. Alex Pereira
Featherweight Tournament Final Bout: Winner of Bout A vs. Winner of Bout B
Heavyweight Co-Headline Bout: Quanchao Luo vs. Junior Tafa
Featherweight Tournament Semifinal Bout B: Chenglong Zhang vs. Quade Taranaki
Featherweight Tournament Semifinal Bout A: Chenchen Li vs. Masaya KuboSUPERFIGHT SERIES
Heavyweight Headline Bout: Rico Verhoeven vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
Middleweight Bout: Wei Zhou vs. Andre Walker
Catchweight (75 kg) Co-Headline Bout: Shanghai Gao vs. Alan Scheinson
Professional Sanda (60 kg) Bout: Hongxing Kong vs. Yang Sun
Catchweight (53 kg) Bout: Jia Liu vs. Zaza Sor. Aree
Catchweight (68 kg) Bout: Lei Xie vs. Petchpanomrung Kiatmookao
Lightweight Bout: Qinghao Meng vs. Pascal Schroth