Yuta Kubo emerged as the winner of the drama-filled Featherweight Slam tournament at GLORY 8 TOKYO.
He beat Masaaki Noiri in an All-Japan final after a tournament run which had seen favorites, including the world-ranked #1 Mosab Amrani, eliminated early.
World-ranked #3 Liam Harrison was taken out by Noiri in the quarter-final stage. The 19 year old then beat Mosab Amrani by decision to earn a spot in the finals.
Kubo stopped South Korea’s finest Chibin Lim in the quarter-finals then took a decision over Canadian standout Gabriel Varga to enter the Grand Final.
The Grand Final nearly ended early after an illegal groin shot at the end of the first, but Noiri shook it off and fought two more rounds before losing by decision.
One fight which did end early was the superfight between Peter Aerts and Jamal Ben Saddik.
With youth and size on Ben Saddik’s size he was able to put Aerts down and nearly out in the first.
But in the second round Aerts came out like a man possessed and staged one of the most remarkable comebacks in the sport’s history, scoring three knockdowns and winning by KO.
The long-awaited superfight between would-be contenders Albert Kraus and Andy Ristie also went down today, and it did not disappoint.
Hard combinations and long technical exchanges marked the first round. Round two didn’t last long - just 27 seconds in, Ristie landed a trademark knee which flattened Kraus and caused the referee to wave the fight off.
Full Results from GLORY 8 TOKYO:
Official Results Glory 8 Tokyo
Date: Friday 3 May, 2013
Location: Ariake Colosseum
City: Tokyo, Japan
Final SLAM Tournament -65kg
Yuta Kubo defeats Masaaki Noiri via decision (146-134)
SEMI FINALS, SLAM Tournament -65 kg
Maasaki Noiri defeats Mosab Amrani via decision (144-141)
Yuta Kubo defeats Gabriel Varga via decision (145-140)
QUARTER-FINALS, SLAM Tournament -65 kg
Mosab Amrani defeats Marcus Vinicius via decision (150-135)
Masaaki Noiri defeats Liam Harrison TKO (due to cut) R2 at 1:06 min.
Gabriel Varga defeats Abdallah Ezbiri via decision (149-139)
Yuta Kubo defeats Chibin Lim via KO (knee to body), R2 at 2:58 min
SUPERFIGHTS
Lightweight (70kgs, 3 x 3mins)
Yoshihiro Sato defeats Sunghyun Lee via decision (144-141)
Heavyweight (3 x 3mins)
Jerome Le Banner defeats Koichi via decision (150-135)
Lightweight (70kgs, 3 x 3mins)
Andy Ristie defeats Albert Kraus via KO (knee to head), R2 at 27 sec
Heavyweight (3 x 3mins)
Peter Aerts defeats Jamal Ben Saddik via KO (3Â downs in 1 round) R2 at 2:27 min
RESERVE FIGHTS, SLAM Tournament -65 kg
Andrej Bruhl defeats Komiya Yukihiro via decision (143-142)
Chonlaek Superpro Samui defeats Fujita Zen via decision (146-139)