Brazilian heavyweight Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (38-11-1, 24 KO’s) has signed a renewed deal with the GLORY World Series.
Silva, ranked #4 in the official heavyweight rankings, has a new multi-fight deal with the organization as he continues his campaign to become the first Brazilian kickboxer to bring a major world title to his homeland.
“We are very happy to announce that we have signed ‘Braddock’ to a new deal. Every time he gets in the ring he is ready to go to war, he has an all-action style which fans around the world love and which is exactly what our sport is all about,” said Cor Hemmers, GLORY matchmaker and Head of Talent Operations.
“He’s had some great fights in GLORY and he has never backed down from any challenge. We feel like he is improving with every fight and we are looking forward to seeing more exciting performances from him in 2015 and beyond.
“We are in the process of making a fight for Braddock which will be a very significant moment in his career. It will be announced soon via the GLORY website so keep checking the news section or the Twitter and Facebook feeds for updates.”
Silva was for many years the main sparring partner of all-time great Peter ‘The Lumberjack’ Aerts. It was Aerts who persuaded Silva to move from Brazil to Amsterdam, Netherlands so that they could train together on a daily basis.
Two years ago Silva’s rising homesickness coincided with an offer to join Team Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team is headed by Antonio ‘Rodrigo’ Nogueira, the former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion and former UFC interim heavyweight champion, and features an all-star lineup of training partners.
Among them is his namesake Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva, the former UFC middleweight champion, who once told an interviewer that ‘Braddock’ was the hardest stand-up sparring partner he had ever had.
‘Braddock’ has fought in the GLORY ring eight times and is 4-4 in the organization, although his GLORY 2 BRUSSELS decision loss to Remy Bonjasky was very narrow and a sizeable number of fans felt the judges should have declared him the winner.
Among his wins in GLORY are victories over top Russian heavyweight Sergey Kharitonov, also a veteran of PRIDE FC and STRIKEFORCE and Igor Jurkovic, a former training partner of Mirko ‘CroCop’. He also avenged himself on Bonjasky with a decision win in their December 2013 rematch.
Brazil is a famous country in the world of Mixed Martial Arts but it is also becoming a force to be reckoned with in kickboxing. ‘Braddock’ Silva’s GLORY countrymen include Saulo Cavalari, #3 in the light-heavyweight division, Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira, ranked #6 at middleweight, Jonathan Oliveira, Jonathan Diniz and more.
GLORY’s next event takes place Friday, April 3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
GLORY 20 DUBAI features a World Lightweight Championship fight between Robin van Roosmalen and challenger Andy Ristie plus a co-main event fight between UFC veteran Pat ‘HD’ Barry and ‘The Silent Power’ Mourad Bouzidi.
Also on the card is a four-man Middleweight Contender Tournament. Alex Pereira features along with Wayne Barrett, Jason Wilnis and Simon Marcus. The winner will go forward to challenge Artem ‘The Lion’ Levin for the World Middleweight Championship.
