DENVER – A heavyweight kickboxing tournament at 5,280 feet is a daunting challenge, and that might be why Curacaoan Errol Zimmerman tried to make quick work of the field.
Zimmerman navigated the four-man heavyweight tournament at Glory 16 using his heavy hands and aggression. He needed less than a round in each fight to become the next contender..
In the first semi-final fight, Zimmerman was able to advance with a first-round technical knockout of Australia’s Ben Edwards, using a barrage of heavy right hands. In Glory tournaments, the two-knockdown was in effect, and Zimmerman dropped Edwards the second time at the 2:50 mark of the first round.
In the other semi-finals match, Silva was able to start fast with MMA/kickboxing veteran Sergei Kharitonov, hitting him with heavy shots in the first round — knocking him down at one point with a heavy punch — that set the tone for the fight. Though Silva slowed in the altitude in Broomfield towards the end, he ended up winning the unanimous decision (29-27. 29-27, 29-27).
Silva, who went the full three rounds, presented little challenge to the fresher Zimmerman in the finals.
Meanwhile in the high-profile alternate heavyweight bout, it was an inauspicious return to the kickboxing ring for UFC veteran Pat Barry, who was knocked out by South African fighter Zack Mwekassa. Barry was rocked with a big shot early in the round, and took a count to recover. It didn’t help. Mwekassa, smelling blood in the water, came in on Barry and put him away with a huge left uppercut that felled the 34-year old Barry for good. Barry, who was making his return to kickboxing after 12 fights in the UFC, was knocked out for the third time in a row. He was knocked out by Shawn Jordan and Soa Palelei in his final UFC bouts before retiring from MMA.
In the main event to determine Glory’s inaugural welterweight champion, 24-year old Marc de Bonte outpointed Karapet Karapetyan in a close split decision. The second round of the bout was very close, but the Belgian fighter did enough to win over the judging majority.
DENVER – A heavyweight kickboxing tournament at 5,280 feet is a daunting challenge, and that might be why Curacaoan Errol Zimmerman tried to make quick work of the field.
Zimmerman navigated the four-man heavyweight tournament at Glory 16 using his heavy hands and aggression. He needed less than a round in each fight to become the next contender..
In the first semi-final fight, Zimmerman was able to advance with a first-round technical knockout of Australia’s Ben Edwards, using a barrage of heavy right hands. In Glory tournaments, the two-knockdown was in effect, and Zimmerman dropped Edwards the second time at the 2:50 mark of the first round.
In the other semi-finals match, Silva was able to start fast with MMA/kickboxing veteran Sergei Kharitonov, hitting him with heavy shots in the first round — knocking him down at one point with a heavy punch — that set the tone for the fight. Though Silva slowed in the altitude in Broomfield towards the end, he ended up winning the unanimous decision (29-27. 29-27, 29-27).
Silva, who went the full three rounds, presented little challenge to the fresher Zimmerman in the finals.
Meanwhile in the high-profile alternate heavyweight bout, it was an inauspicious return to the kickboxing ring for UFC veteran Pat Barry, who was knocked out by South African fighter Zack Mwekassa. Barry was rocked with a big shot early in the round, and took a count to recover. It didn’t help. Mwekassa, smelling blood in the water, came in on Barry and put him away with a huge left uppercut that felled the 34-year old Barry for good. Barry, who was making his return to kickboxing after 12 fights in the UFC, was knocked out for the third time in a row. He was knocked out by Shawn Jordan and Soa Palelei in his final UFC bouts before retiring from MMA.
In the main event to determine Glory’s inaugural welterweight champion, 24-year old Marc de Bonte outpointed Karapet Karapetyan in a close split decision. The second round of the bout was very close, but the Belgian fighter did enough to win over the judging majority.
