4 Man Middleweight Tournament

Four-man tournament promises "explosive action" at GLORY 10.

The GLORY World Series touches down in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, September 28 with GLORY 10 at the Citizen’s Bank Arena on Center Parkway.

Central to the event is a four-man tournament which will see a quartet of the world’s best middleweights whittled down to one who will stand supreme and claim the tournament belt and grand prize of $150,000.

Artem Levin of Russia is the tournament favorite and top seed. He is ranked number one in the world and has an outstanding record of 45-3 with 35 wins by KO. Creative and highly unorthodox, Levin likes to play games with his opponents and sap their confidence.

But he also hits very, very hard - as former Its Showtime champion Sahak Parparyan can attest. The two met at GLORY 7, their respective debuts for the organization, and the fight was nowhere near as close as people predicted. Levin showboated on his way to victory and broke Parparyan’s jaw in the process.

Because he is still recovering from the injury, Parparyan cannot take part in this tournament. His place has been taken by American standout Joe ‘Stich ’Em Up’ Schilling recently signed with GLORY and this will be his debut for the organization. He enters the official rankings at number five and faces world number two Stephen Wakeling in the semi-final stage.

Schilling is a former interim WBC Muay Thai champion and actually held the 79kg belt twice, having lost and then recovered it in successive fights. He held the interim title while Levin held the full title but a fight between the two never materialized. Schilling says he wants to test himself against Levin and Wakeling and this tournament is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Wakeling has held several world titles and numerous national and international ones. He is one of the most accomplished fighters ever to emerge from the highly-respected UK scene and has a close rivalry with Levin. They fought in England in July 2012 and it ended in a controversial draw, with both fighters claiming they won.

GLORY 5 saw Wakeling make his debut for the organization in fine fashion. He showed just why he is so highly regarded via a merciless destruction of Eddie ‘Showtime’ Walker, stopping the US middleweight with leg kicks.

The possibility of a rematch with Levin is enticing but there is also a lot of anticipation around Wakeling’s fight with Schilling. Fans have wanted it for years and GLORY has finally made it happen; it will be an intense affair for as long as it lasts.

The final part of the line-up is Jason Wilnis of Amsterdam. He is by far the tournament underdog - especially as he faces Levin in the first round - but comes from a good team and has plenty of knockout power.

And unlike Levin, who comes from the world of Muay Thai where fights are often slower-paced and more tactical, Wilnis is born and bred to the kickboxing game. He is well used to fighting the high-pressure pace that GLORY fights demand. Wilnis has plenty of time to prepare for his unusual opponent and is confident of causing an upset in September.

GLORY 10 marks the debut of the organization’s four-man tournament model, which matchmaker and talent-relations executive Cor Hemmers thinks is a valuable addition to the existing stable of tournament structures.

“Where the eight- and sixteen-man tournaments were conceived as tests of a fighter’s spirit and endurance, the four-man tournaments are designed to produce explosive fights and constant action,” he explains.

“The fighters don’t have to concern themselves as much with damage avoidance and conserving energy and can give 100 per cent in each round. The GLORY 10 tournament will produce some really explosive action.”