The GLORY 17 LOS ANGELES and GLORY LAST MAN STANDING double-event was an incredible night of kickboxing action, producing three champions plus nominees for Fight of the Year and Knockout of the Year.
Ranking points were also gained and lost, depending on the fighter’s fortunes, and there has been movement in several divisions.
Three Champions were taken out of the regular contender rankings and elevated to sit above them in the Champion’s slot.
Rico Verhoeven (World Heavyweight Championship), Artem Levin (World Middle Championship) and Joe Valtellini (World Welterweight Championship) now occupy the champion’s slot in their respective divisions.
Verhoeven took a points win over Daniel Ghita and, because Ghita was ranked #1, Verhoeven gained 259 ranking points as well as the title. Ghita drops 31 points for the loss but remains in the #1 contender position.
Also at Heavyweight, Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic took a win over professional boxer Jarrell Miller, who was returning to kickboxing for this one fight, looking to avenge a 2013 loss.
With Miller being unranked, the win earns “CroCop” just 47 ranking points and does not affect his position at #10.
At Welterweight, Valtellini had the #2 spot but now exits the contender ranks and sits above them. His win was also worth 159 points.
De Bonte, having lost the title belt, returns to the regular ranking and slots in at #3 behind Nieky Holzken. Previous #2 Karapet Karapetyan moves up to #2 following Valtellini’s ascendancy.
Levin’s win in the eight-man Middleweight Championship Tournament was worth 360 points, though he was already ranked #1 prior to becoming champion.
Runner-up Joe Schilling scored 200 points, while joint bronze went to Filip Verlinden and Wayne Barrett with 110 points each.
Unsuccessful quarter-finalists Simon Marcus, Alex Pereira, Melvin Manhoef and Bogdan Stoica each gain 50 ranking points.
Levin’s departure from the regular contender rankings moves Schilling up one place to #1, Barrett up one place to #2, Verlinden up one place to #3 and Simon Marcus up one place to #4.
Pereira climbs two places, moving above former It’s Showtime champion Sahak Parparyan to take the #5 slot and crack the division’s Top 5 for the first time.
Manhoef climbs one place to #7 while Bogdan Stoica also rises two spots, moving from #10 to #8 and leapfrogging Jason Wilnis in the process.
In the tournament reserve match, Mike Lemaire scored a somewhat controversial decision win over Dustin Jacoby. He gains 83 points and moves from #15 to #13, while Jacoby loses 24 points and stays at #14.
Gabriel Varga’s win in the Featherweight Contender Tournament sees him crack the division’s Top 3, moving from #5 to #3 and entering him into the title conversation.
Runner-up Shane Oblonsky scores 90 points and rises from #9 to #7 while Marcus Vinicius and Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai both gain 10 points for participation but drop one place each, Sitmonchai to #4 and Vinicius to #9.
Finally, the lightweight division has a new #1 contender. Andy ‘The Machine’ Ristie’s knockout of Ky Hollenbeck gained him 137 ranking points and moved him to the top spot, pushing Robin Van Roosmalen down to #2.
