An MMA Fans Guide to Glory's Last Man Standing Tournament
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts
Saturday night will see Glory World Series descend on The Forum in Inglewood, California for one of the most stacked shows kickboxing has ever seen in Glory Last Man Standing. At the heart of the card is Glory's 8 man middleweight tournament featuring the best 187lb fighter on the planet.
With no UFC card this weekend, and with such huge hype behind the Last Man Standing tournament on social media, it's likely MMA fans who have never seen Glory before will tune in to watch the show on BT Sports. Here, we break down the Glory Last Man Standing tournament for MMA fans who have limited knowledge of the 8 men taking part in this illustrious middleweight competition.
Artem Levin
Ranked at number 1 in the Glory Middleweight rankings, Artem Levin is one of the most highly decorated fighters taking part in the Last Man Standing tournament. Captain of the Russian National Muaythai Team, career highlight include WBC Muay Thai World Champion, It’s Showtime World Champion, and WMC European Champion titles, to go long side his 5 IFMA World Muaythai championship titles.
A slippery fighter who is tough to hit, Levin employs an evasive style which has seen him likened to Floyd Mayweather Jr. The most accurate striker in the 8 man tournament according to Compustrike with 42% of the his strikes landing, Levin enters the Glory tournament with 33 TKOs from 47 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw in his 53 fight career. Levin has fought 2 of the 8 contenders in the Last Man Standing tournament, losing to both Joe Schilling, and Simon Marcus.
Alex Pereira
The biggest underdog in the Last Man Standing tournament, 26 year old Brazilian Alex Pereira made a slash on the international kickboxing scene earlier in the year when when he defeated former UFC competitor Dustin Jacoby to win the 2014 Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament Champion.
A former professional boxer, Periera is known for his dangerous hands and big finishes which has seen him take 21 of 30 victories inside the distance. Ranked at 7 in the Glory Middleweight rankings, Periera is a rising star in kickboxing but will be taking a huge step up in competition when he faces Artem Levin in the opening round of the Last Man Standing tournament.
Joe Schilling
A poster boy of American Kickboxing, Joe Shilling is current ranked no. 2 on the Glory Middleweight Rankings. A Muy Thai striker who has completed in professional boxing, and mixed martial arts where he went 1-3, before joining the Glory promotion, Schilling won the Glory Middleweight World Championship Tournament in 2013, a title which joins his list of accolades including WBC Intrim World Championship & MTAA United States Super Middleweight Championship title.
With a record of 16 wins with 10 TKOs and 5 losses, Shilling will be fighting Simon Marcus at Glory 17 who he has lost to on 2 previous occasions. Of the 7 other men fight as part of Glory Last Man Standing Tournament Schilling has fought 2 other men in the tournament on previous occasions - Artem Levin who he beat to win the Glory MW tournament, and Wayne Barrett who he lost to in his most recent bout. MMA fans will be interested to know Schilling was a sparing partner for Nick Diaz ahead of his UFC 143 bout with Carlos Condit, and has kickboxing victories over former UFC fighter Chris Sprang, and RFA contender Chidi Njokuani.
Simon Marcus
Undefeated in 39 pro bouts, Simon Marcus makes his Glory debut on Saturday against Joe Schilling who he has been already on two previous outings. Ranked at number 1 in the world by respected kickboxing outlet liverkick.com, Marcus’ only blemish on his illustrious career is a draw against RFA contender Chidi Njokuani where he lost a point for illegal blows.
Highly decorated, WBC Muaythai Light Heavyweight Title, WLF Kickboxing Light-Heavyweight World Champion Title, and Lion Fight Light-Heavyweight World Title, are just a few of the honours you will find in Marcus’ trophy cabinet. MuayThaiAuthority.com's North American Male Fighter of the Year 2012, and 2013, Marcus will will be one of, if not the favourite to win Glory Last Mad Standing having previous beaten 3 of the contestants he could face on route to the championship - Filip Verlinden, Joe Schilling, and Artem Levin. He enters the tournament with a professional record of 39 wins (24 KOs), 0 losses, 1 draw.
Wayne Barrett
Ranked at 3 in the Glory Middleweight rankings, Wayne Barrett is a rising star in the world of kickboxing thanks to an impressive victory over fellow Last Man Standing tournament contender Joe Schilling, in a bout where he was a +200 underdog. At just 4-0 as a pro, Barratt is the least experience competitor in the tournament, however the orthodox striker paid his dues as an amateur, amassing a near-perfect 19-1 record with 15 knockouts, picking up a WKA Amateur United States Cruiserweight (-86 kg/189 lb) Muay Thai Championship along the way.
One of only 2 men in the tournament to enter with perfect professional records - the other being Simon Marcus 3 of Barrett's 4 victories have come by knockout, giving Barrett has the highest finishing percentage amongst the fighters taking part in the Last Man Standing tournament. He is the most accurate kicker amongst the challengers, landing 61% of his leg strikes according to CompuStrike.
A Golden Gloves Champion in his native Georgia, Barratt now lives in New York and trains at Renzo Gracie Fight Academy along side UFC fighters such as Costas Phillippou, and Gian Villante, as well as Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.
Bogdan Stoica
The youngest of 8 Glory Last Man Standing Contenders at 24 years old, Romanian Bogdan Stoica makes his Glory debut when he takes on takes on Wayne Barrett in the opening round of the last man standing tournament.
Hailing from a Wushu background, winning the Romanian National Wushu Championsips in 2009, Stoica is known for using an arsenal of kicking techniques including flying kicks, knees, and axe-kicks. A former SuperKombat Cruiserweight Champion, the majority of Stoica’s fights have taken place in his native Romania, and he has yet to fight on US soil.
A deadly striker with a record of 38 wins (29 KOs), 5 losses, Stoica holds the record for fastest TKO for promotion Local Kombat, defeating Dženan Poturak in just 8 seconds. His power and kicking techniques make him a real threat in the tournament however Stoica will need to dig deep to bounce back for the unanimous decision losses he has suffered in his last 2 outings.
Filip Verlinden
With 54 fights on his record, Filip Verlinden has the most kickboxing experience of all the fighters taking part in the Glory Last Man Standing Tournament. A former IFMA World Champion Muay Thai, and WKA World Champion title holder, Verlinden has fought 7 time for Glory putting together a 4-3 record, although many of his losses have come at a higher weight.
Known as 'The Puncher' because of his preference for boxing, Verlinden counts Manny Pacquiao amongst his heroes. A product of Golden Glory in The Netherlands, a gym which can be credited for the success of Semmy Schilt, Marloes Coenen, the Overeem brothers, Sergei Kharitonov and more, Verlinden has previous lost to Simon Marcus who is also part of the Last Man Standing Tournament. Ranked at 4 in the Glory Middleweight Rankings, and 9th in the world by liverkick.com, Verlinden is know for his fast hands which has seen him take 42 victories in 54 outings, with 16 of his victories coming by TKO.
Melvin Manhoef
The oldest man in the competition at 38, Melvin Manhoef has had an illustrious career in both kickboxing and MMA.
A former Cage Rage Light-Heavyweight champion, Manhoef has fought for some of the finest MMA promotions in the world including Strikeforce, Dream and ONE FC where he has finishes some of the toughest fighters on the planet including Cyborg Santos (twice), Ian Freeman, Mark Hunt, Sakuraba, Kazuo Misaki, and Dennis Kang. In 28 victories, Manhoef has finished 26 of his opponents inside the distance.
Ranked at 8 in the Glory Middleweight rankings, and 7th in the world by liverkick.com, Manhoef career in kickboxing has been almost as impressive as his MMA career putting together a professional record of 37 Wins (27 (T)KO's, 10 decisions), 11 Losses, however he has struggled when he has come up against world class opposition, losing his last 4 kickboxing bout, all be it to kickboxing legends Zabit Samedov, Tyrone Spong, Gokhan Saki, and Remy Bonjasky.
0 comments:
Post a Comment